Different
by Lala Lotsalove
Summary: Anzu couldn't cry anymore.It was like her tears had all gotten bored with her and left. But she still felt it.The loneliness burned her, the loss stabbed her and the grief stung her like a thousand bees.She had never felt this before, it was different.
1. Chapter 1: Reflect

Different

~Chapter 1~

Reflect

Anzu – 6

Kisame – 7

**X** Means: Switch P.O.V (sorta)

**Warning: I write what I write. If there are any spoilers or anything at any time during this story and it ruins something, your fault for reading it. Also, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. (Kumiko, Shoda and Anzu are mine though)**

The little girl smiled triumphantly as she went to the oven and carefully opened up the door. She looked to be about 6 years old. She had chest length black hair which was slightly tinted dark blue. Her eyes were unusual, a steel blue that had a bit of silver outlining the black pupil.

"Oh! Anzu! Be careful!" A woman quickly rushed over to the smiling child who stopped at the sound of her name. "Remember Anzu," the woman handed the girl a pair of green oven mitts "always use oven mitts so you don't get burned." The girl slipped the mitts on, still smiling, and reached into the oven.

A few seconds later the little girl pulled out a beautiful golden brown apple pie. "Do you think Daddy will like it, Kumiko?" The little girl asked the woman happily. The woman nodded in response. "Of coarse he'll like it. Speaking of which, he should be home from his mission soon. You should get your things and head home." At the girl's hesitation to leave the pie Kumiko smiled. "Don't worry dear; I'll pack it up for you." Anzu smiled and rushed up stairs, quickly packing up her things.

This was the usual routine for her, every time her father had to go on a mission he'd ask one of his many 'friends' to take care of her. Anzu stopped and stared down at the picture she was about to pack.

It was a picture of her and her father.

She idolized her father.

He was tall, 6.2, had wild black hair and liquid silver eyes. He wore the standard Kirigakure ninja headband on his right arm and a heavy grey colored Anbu vest. Under that he wore a black spandex t-shirt and a pair of baggy black cargo pants. If you looked past his very distracting Anbu tattoos you could see several scars on his arms neck and face. Many people thought scars were ugly but she liked them. She thought they made people look experienced.

She sighed, breaking out of her trance and carefully placed the picture inside her bag. She pulled it onto her shoulder, shifting slightly under its weight. She searched the room quickly making sure she hadn't forgotten anything and then rushed out the door. "Bye Kumiko!" She squeaked as she grabbed the pie and headed outside. "By Anzu, be careful!" Anzu snorted slightly when she heard this. She was always careful.

Anzu ran happily down the street, ignoring the many sales people calling out to her. She rolled her eyes. Even if she did stop there was no way that they would be able to rip her off. She was too smart. She suddenly stopped as she came up to her house. Standing in front of the house were 5 Anbu and the Mizukage himself. They were talking to her father and Anzu had a feeling it wasn't just a friendly chat.

"Shoda Yamato, you are being accused of attempted murder by the Third Mizukage. How do you plead?" Asked one of the men. Her father looked emotionless. _Not guilty, not guilty_ She chanted in her head. "Guilty." Her father said in an unusual monotone. "Very well then, you will skip all trial and be sent directly to execution, it will be held within the next 3 days." The Mizukage informed him. Her father nodded solemnly and with that the Anbu began leading him away.

Anzu couldn't watch anymore. She threw the pie to the ground and ran, as fast as her legs carry her. She didn't know where she was going she just needed to get away. Finally she was too tired to run anymore and she collapsed onto the ground with a thud. She was in a playground, completely abandoned. It was dirty and had barley any grass. She sat in fetal position her head buried into her legs and her arms wrapped tightly around her knees.

She began crying. There was nothing else to do. She just cried. The hot sticky tears streamed down her cheeks and made her eyes feel sore. She didn't understand and in a way she didn't want to. It didn't make sense; her father was the type to always smile or to always have a joke when things went wrong. He wasn't the murderous type; in fact she had never even seen her father angry before.

Questions also popped into her mind. Who had her father attempted to kill to be directly accused of murder by _the_ Mizukage? Why did he do it? What was going to happen to her? Would one of her father's 'friends' take her in? She doubted it. They were all young and probably didn't want the responsibility of a kid for a long amount of time. "Hey you!" Anzu stopped and slowly looked up. Standing in front of her was a boy.

He looked to be about 7. He was tall for a kid his age. He had shark like features, sharp teeth, weird eyes and gill like markings on his face. But it wasn't these features that caught her attention. "You're…blue." The little girl stated.

**X**

"You're… blue." Kisame narrowed his eyes slightly, expecting her to get up and run away or throw something at him…or both. "Yeah I kinda noticed." He said grouchily. The girl jumped slightly at his tone, making him feel guilty. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you angry." The girl apologized. Kisame was confused. She didn't seemed to be fazed at all by his different appearance. She was treating him like a normal human being. All she had said was; you're blue, and that was the end of it. He grinned.

"Kisame Hoshigaki." He said introducing himself. The girl grinned back, despite the fact that she had been crying moments ago. "I'm Anzu Yamato. It's a pleasure to meet you Kisame." The girl stated bowing in greeting. Kisame's face fell. _Yamato?_

_~Flashback~_

_Kisame sighed as his head hit the pillow. Kisame had been staying with the Mizukage for a week now and things were great. He was doing better in the academy, he always had enough to eat and he always had clean clothes. People still distanced themselves from him though, and it still hurt, but now he had the Third. Now he had somebody. _

_He smiled and closed his eyes, he was so tired. Suddenly he heard the window quietly glide open and he forced his eyes to open. At the foot of his bed there was a man. In his right hand he clutched a katana, well polished. He was extremely tall, had messy black hair and silver eyes. His eyes blazed with hatred. "Who are you?" Kisame asked sitting up suddenly and was surprised by how bold he sounded. "My name is Shoda Yamato and I'm here to kill you." _

_~End Flashback~_

"Is something the matter Kisame?" Kisame blinked. The girl was standing in front of him waving her hand in front of his face. Kisame snorted at her idiotic actions. "No, nothing's the matter." He told her, grabbing her hand and pushing it out of his face.

His gaze landed on her face, her pretty blue and silver eyes were red and puffy from crying and her cheeks were covered with dry tears. "Are you okay?" He asked and her gaze suddenly dropped to the ground. "Kisame, something very bad has happened." Kisame watched as she sat down on the ground lazily. More tears began to stream down her cheeks and she clenched her eyes tight in an attempt to stop them. "What?" He asked quietly, but he already knew the answer.

That Shoda guy must have been related to her somehow, and he must have been arrested by the Mizukage. "It's my father, he's been arrested." Her voice was quiet and monotone. Like she had gotten used to the idea and she didn't care anymore. But her face said different. She was no longer crying but her face was twisted into a mask of grief and pain.

Kisame could feel it, her loneliness, her pain, her grief, he could feel it all. He'd felt it before. Then he did something he'd never done before and he never thought he'd do. He hugged her.

**X**

Anzu couldn't cry anymore. It was like her tears had all gotten bored with her and left. But she still felt it. The loneliness burned her, the loss stabbed her and the grief stung her like a thousand bees.

Suddenly, she felt two arms wrap around her and pull her off the ground. Then she felt safe and all her pain went away. At first she was stunned; she didn't know what had happened. Then she looked up to see Kisame looking down at her with an equally stunned look on his face. He had hugged her.

The two of them stood like that for awhile neither of them saying anything. Strangely there was no awkwardness. Then it started to rain. At first, it was only a small drizzle but it quickly became a shower, and then a heavy pour. But still neither moved, except to look up into the sky and watch as the rain came down.

Kisame broke the silence. "Anzu, we have to get out of the rain." His voice was spacey, like he really could care less but Anzu nodded eagerly. Kisame let go of her so that he could grab her hand and lead her out of the abandoned playground. She closed her eyes and attempted to use her spare arm to shelter her head from the cold rain.

She let Kisame pull her through the storm, trusting him not to let her trip or fall. She was relieved when she heard him open up a door and pull her inside. She blinked her eyes open. "Kisame, is that you?" She heard a male voice ask. She turned just in time to see the Mizukage enter the front foyer.

She gasped and bowed respectfully. "Yeah, it's me." Kisame said flatly. "Who's this?" The Mizukage asked smiling kindly. "Anzu Yamato…uh…sir." She stuttered near the end. She couldn't believe she was on the Mizukage's estate.

"Yamato huh?" The Mizukage asked flashing a meaningful glance at Kisame. "Yeah, and she's got no place to go." Kisame stated glaring back at the third slightly. "Well then I guess you'll just have to stay with us!" The third smiled happily and she couldn't help but smile back.

**X**

Kisame watched wearily as the Mizukage showed Anzu to her room. He couldn't help but feel responsible for her pain. Though she didn't show it, he could tell that she was still hurting. Behind every smile he could tell that she was still crying.

He couldn't help but reflect on today's past events. He barely new this girl and already he had shown her a side of him he had never shown anyone else. Already he thought of her as a friend. Already he trusted her. And he had no clue why.


	2. Chapter 2: Shine

Different

~Chapter 2~

Shine

Anzu – 12

Kisame - 13

Zabuza - 10

**X** = change POV

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Warning: Read at your own risk! Over the course of this entire story there will be bad language, spoilers, etc.**

Kisame laughed evilly as he watched her run around frantically. "What are you laughing at you jerk! It's your fault I have to rush around like this anyway!" She stopped her preparation just long enough to screech the sentence in his ear. Causing Kisame to wince briefly and then laugh again. He had 'forgotten' to wake her up on the 'most important day of her life'.

He watched as she ran quickly over to the mirror in the bathroom and fixed her hair and put on makeup. "Oi! What're you putting on makeup for? It's an exam not a date!" She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh screw off Kisame, before I throw you right threw the wall again!" She growled. Kisame glanced out of the corner of his eye to examine the Kisame shaped hole in the wall. He sweat dropped slightly.

Suddenly out of nowhere a hairbrush zoomed through the air and just barely missed his face. This caused Kisame to examine her frantic facial expressions a little more carefully, there hidden beneath her panic was the ghost of another emotion. She was nervous. She always got irritable when she was nervous. He sighed and leaned up against the wall beside her, watching as she pulled her chest length black hair back into a pony tail. "Hey, Anzu." He said getting her attention.

She turned to face him, showing her uncertainty to him for the first time. She looked tired like she'd been up all night worrying. "You'll be amazing." Seeming slightly reassured she took a deep breath and smiled. "Thanks."

**X**

She and Kisame walked towards the academy. With every step she felt the butterflies flutter harder and harder. She gulped. She needed to find something to distract her so she wouldn't start hyperventilating. She glanced around, her eyes landing on Kisame. No, not Kisame…he was too distracting. I mean he was _blue_.

She searched the large street again for a distraction and noticed that people were staring, all for different reasons. Most were staring at Kisame with disgust, some with pity. The guys close to her age were staring at her. She was used to it by now, the adult women always commented on how she was such an extraordinary beauty. She couldn't help but agree. She liked herself. Call it vanity, but she did.

Already she had a pretty hourglass figure; she was slim but not skinny and was a little taller then all the other girls her age. She had chest length black hair (which she had tried to grow out at one point but failed when Kisame burned it off when they were training, the bastard) and steel blue eyes with a silver tint to them.

She looked over to Kisame. He had become a genin 3 years ago, but because of his strength he wasn't given a sensei or a team. This disappointed him, though he would never tell anyone but her. He was tall for a 13 year old, 5.10 actually. He was lean but at the same time muscular. But what was really new about him was his weapon.

A year and a half ago she had found him carrying around a sword that was almost bigger then he was. Samehada… she had never seen it in action before nor had she ever seen it unwrapped before, but she had been told by the Mizukage that it more resembled a living thing then a blade.

Of coarse this had only made her more curious. So she had asked Kisame to show it to her but he had denied the request saying he didn't know how long he could control it. Control it? Great, now she was even more curious.

Anzu sighed and reached behind her to fiddle with the hilt of her own blade. It had been a 10th birthday present from the third and it had abilities just like Samehada did. It had a name to.

Yamasota.

She shifted her haunches slightly, readjusting Yamasota's massive weight. Yamasota was not a thick blade like Samehada but it was long, 5.6 to be exact. It was only 1 ft wide and the blade was pure black. The hilt was silver and had a dragon engraved into it. A long blue piece of ribbon was tied firmly on to the end of the hilt, a little touch that Anzu had added because to her the sword had looked to masculine for her.

"Hey Anzu," She turned once again to look at Kisame, her stride towards the academy never faltering. "Hm?" She grunted. "You sure you want to do this? I mean, you could always wait another year." Anzu stopped and so did Kisame. "Of coarse I'm sure…why? I mean a few minutes ago you were being really encouraging so what's with the change in attitude?" She could feel the anger bubbling just below the surface of her skin, ready to come out. A result of the bad temper she had developed over the years.

Kisame nodded his heads towards the gates to the academy. There stood over one hundred academy students awaiting the exam. Her anger melted away suddenly and the butterflies began beating even harder causing Anzu to feel nauseous. She drew in a deep shaky breath and closed her steel silver orbs. "Anzu?" Her eyes shot open. "I'm not a coward Kisame!" She spat and continued to move forward towards the other students.

**X**

Kisame sighed as Anzu glided away, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the street. In order for an academy student to become a genin, they must fight other academy students. Many times this resulted in serious injury or death.

He didn't want to see her injured… or worse. But she was in one of her moods. He rolled his eyes and followed her.

The gates to the academy were about 5 ft high and were made of many metal wires weaved together. Just outside of them stood a large group of students. They were all chatting in excitement. Even Anzu was talking with a girl who appeared to be only a few years younger then her. He watched as the instructors appeared at the front of the group and called out for silence.

**X**

Anzu held her breath as the sensei made his way to the head of the group. She felt Mariko tense beside her also. Mariko was her best and only female friend. Because the two of them preferred training to shopping and weapons to makeup other girls tended to distance themselves from the two of them.

A silence quickly fell over the large group of preteens, each awaiting instructions. "This years graduation exam will be the same as every year," the sensei began, a smirk creeping up onto his face "You will be assigned an opponent and you will fight them until you are told to stop or he/she is unconscious, dead or unable to fight. Any questions?" At the word dead a few students tensed while others looked at their friends.

Taking the silence as his signal to continue then sensei began reading of the names of everyone's opponents. She began to tremble slightly, partially because of fear for her life and partially because she didn't want to kill anyone.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She already knew who it was. "Kisame I…" She began, her voice pleading for some kind of reassurance from her friend. "It's your time to shine." He whispered and then he was gone, probably up into the small stadium to watch. She smiled, suddenly feeling more confident in herself. She didn't know how he did it, but Kisame always knew what to say.

Yes, it was her time to shine.


	3. Chapter 3: From Bad To Good

Different

~Chapter 3~

From Bad To Good Then Back Again

Anzu – 12

Kisame – 13

Zabuza – 10

**X** = Change POV

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Warning: Read at your own risk! May contain spoilers, bad language etc.**

Hate. It is a very powerful emotion. It was an emotion Anzu had never experienced, and never really thought about.

Up until yesterday afternoon.

_~Flashback~_

_Anzu watched with horror as Zabuza Momochi slaughtered yet another of his classmates. Mariko whimpered slightly beside her but held her ground. The sensei's, who somehow were finding this amusing, kept putting others up against him. Some barely lasted more then a minute before Zabuza and his large sword cut them down. _

"_Zabuza Momochi vs. Mariko-"He didn't finish the name as Mariko jumped down into the ring, a determined expression on her face. She slid gracefully into fighting stance, her eyes blazing. The whistle blew and neither student moved, trying to anticipate the other's first move. _

_Suddenly, faster then she had ever seen anyone move in her short life, Zabuza ran at Mariko. She dodged at first, but Zabuza hit her with the hilt of his blade as he passed, causing her to lose a bit of her balance. In the 3 seconds it took her to right herself he plunged the sword deep into her stomach, a sick grin twisting his blood stained face._

_And just like that, Mariko died._

_~End Flashback~_

She hated him! He had killed Mariko, her best friend. She flopped down onto her bed, her body going limp with defeat. She buried her head into her pillow, her sobs just barely audible.

She didn't hear the door to her room creep open nor did she know anyone was there until a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pull her into a sitting position. Kisame. At first all she did was sit there silently and then she broke down. She buried her face into his chest and cried. There was nothing else she could do.

A week later…

Anzu glanced over beside her to Kisame and then to her sensei across from them both. Both males looked absolutely bored and irritated, but Anzu was excited. Last week after a very annoyed and worried Kisame had finally convinced her to come down stairs, the Mizukage had informed them both they were to be on a genin squad. She had been so excited and she still was.

She frowned slightly as a mental picture of Mariko surfaced. Mariko had wanted this so bad. She pushed it to the back of her mind, slightly irritated. There was a time to mourn and there was a time to be happy. Now was happy time.

It was then Kisame chose to look over to her. "What's the matter?" He asked, slightly raising an eyebrow. She pulled her lips up into an obviously fake smile. "Nothing, I was just wondering when our other teammate is going to get here."

With this statement their sensei looked over at them, a permanently bored expression on his face. "He's almost here." He responded with a sigh, his wild brown hair blowing in the wind slightly. As if on cue the third member of their group appeared.

Anzu's breath caught in her throat and she fought the urge to leap forward and attack. Walking towards them was Zabuza Momochi. An inhuman growl erupted from her as he got closer. "What's he doing here?" She practically screeched her arm flying up so that she could point at him. Her sensei's face remained molded into its usual bored expression, but his voice was full of regret. "He is your third teammate."

She tensed at the word teammate. He was no teammate of hers; in fact she'd kill him right now if she had the choice. She looked over to Kisame who had a similar look on his face. It was not as intense as hate but it was a look that said 'if I were you I'd sleep with on eye open'.

Zabuza stalked towards the group. He bowed silently to their sensei, glared at Kisame and ignored Anzu like she didn't even exist. He shoved passed her like she was air and she didn't matter. _Alright that's it! He's just asking for an ass kicking!_ She tensed, her hand hovering over Yamasota's hilt.

Then she stopped. No, dear readers, she didn't suddenly come to her senses. Her arm was being held firmly but, gently in place. She looked over to who it was, a glare on her face that would make anyone think of the phrase 'if looks could kill' only to stop in astonishment.

Kisame was holding her arm, his eyes glowing fiercely with authority. She didn't know why, but she felt slightly betrayed. She pulled her arm away without difficulty and skulked a few paces away from him, her head bowed. She just now began to realize the errors in what she had been thinking. But she still couldn't wipe away that intense feeling of betrayal. _Why?_

**X**

Kisame sighed as he watched Anzu moved away from him to sulk in her emo corner. He glanced over to his sensei to see him staring lazily up at the clouds and Zabuza having some sort of a glaring match with a sparrow. He sweat dropped slightly. _Great, we possibly have the weirdest genin squad ever. We've got a homicidal chick with one hell of a temper, a sensei who is on the verge of depression, some sort of freaky prodigy kid who is kinda spacey and I'm a blue sharkman. Might as well get it over with and sign us up for the circus._

"Ok then, how about we get started." He was brought out of his thoughts by the constant deadpan voice of his sensei. "We are going to introduce ourselves now. I want you to say your name, what your interests are and what your plans are for the future. I'll start. My name is Riku Souta, Riku-sensei to you. My interests are…nature and my plans for the future…" He shrugged at the last one, his face still frozen into that bored mask. "Who's next?"

"Oh, oh me, me, me, me!" Exclaimed Anzu happily, literally bouncing back towards the rest of the group. _Well she's obviously over whatever was bothering her. _He thought. "My name is Anzu Yamato. My interests are swordsmanship and painting! I like weapons, colors and food! I love food. My dislikes are…maybe I should skip that one." She said glaring at Zabuza then she continued happily "My plans for the future are to have a successful career as a kunoichi and then have a family! A big one!" She finished with a big grin.

This caused Kisame to chuckle. "What are you laughing at!" She growled at him. "Nothing, It's just you forgot to warn them about your bad temper." He stated mater-o-factly, his eyes closed and a finger pointing up intelligently.

**X**

She stood there for a moment her left eye twitching until finally she couldn't take it anymore. He was like a piñata, so hard to resist…she lifted Yamasota off of her back and wacked Kisame in the head with the flat part of it. He collapsed to the ground anime style and Anzu could hear Zabuza chuckling behind her. "I DO NOT HAVE A BAD TEMPER!" She screamed at his fallen form and then she replaced her weapon onto her back."Who's next?" Riku-sensei asked, subtly taking a step back from Anzu, afraid of being her next victim.

There was silence then as they waited for one of the two boys to speak up. Riku-sensei sighed. "Alright then, Kisame you can go now." Kisame, who had just managed to stand up again glared at his sensei. "Fine." He muttered.

Anzu suddenly realized how little she actually knew about Kisame. Even though they were really good friends they never really conversed much. Unless Kisame was annoying her. Many times Anzu would just talk and Kisame would listen (usually while he took care of Samehada), commenting every now and then. Anzu listened intently for his answer.

"My name is Kisame Hoshigaki. My interests are swordsmanship. Likes….nothing important. Dislikes….hm, never really thought about it. My plans for the future are none of your damn business." Before Anzu could protest at his lack of info she was cut off by Zabuza's monotone voice.

"Zabuza Momochi. Interests… none. Likes…none. Dislikes…everything. Plans for the future…to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist." At this Kisame raised an eyebrow slightly but Anzu paid no attention to that.

She pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Hey, that's no fair! They didn't tell us really anything!" She complained to her oblivious sensei. She resieved no answer from him. "You mean we didn't tell _you_ anything. Riku-sensei isn't even listening." Kisame pointed out. Anzu glanced over at her sensei who was staring at the clouds with a glazed look in his eyes. "So you're saying you don't trust me?" She asked putting her hand in front of her mouth with a mock shocked expression. Of course that was a rhetorical question, but I guess Kisame never got the memo. "No."

There was suddenly a bird's eye view of the village. There was a loud whacking sound and something heavy hit the ground.

**Sorry It kind of sucks. It was rushed, but I hope you enjoy it anyways.**

**Me thinks a rivalry has sparked between Zabuza and Kisame! ^.^ By the way, does this happen to remind you of a certain team 7? Except for the fact that Anzu acts more like a guy then a girl (unlike Sakura of course)! **

**Please Review! It's not hard people!**


	4. Chapter 4: Just Another Mission

Different

~Chapter 4~

Just Another Mission

Kisame – 16

Anzu – 15

Zabuza – 13

**Hi everyone! I've got some awesome reviews, so far so good. So to all my reviewers, thank you. Anyways, this chapter really is just kind of a set up for the rest of the plot. It may seem kinda boring but it has some important stuff in it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. (only in my wildest dreams)**

Kisame grabbed the end of Zabuza's sword, like there wasn't a blade on it at all, and threw him across the training grounds. Zabuza slid across the slick grassy ground, struggling to keep his balance, but soon righted himself and attacked again. This time though, Anzu noticed, his stance was off and just like before Kisame easily threw him away. Although this time Zabuza hit a tree and didn't get back up.

"Ok. Kisame, Zabuza, switch places. Kisame is offense and Zabuza is defense." Riku-sensei told them. Both boys nodded and switched places. Anzu watched, sighing wistfully.

About three weeks ago the three of them had gone on a mission to Fire Country. They were chunin now so they were able to go on missions without their sensei. She had gotten into a fight with a high ranking Anbu member and, although she had won, he had broken her left leg in five places. She winced at the memory, feeling the searing pain once again. She sighed. It had been two weeks before they had let her out of that damn hospital and a week before she was allowed out of her house. It would be another week before she could train and even then it couldn't be anything to hard.

Bottom line, right now her life sucks.

Pouting, Anzu turned back to the painting she was doing. It was a mixture of different colored vines that went randomly, but methodically, across the page, curling at the ends. In the middle of the mass of vines there was a jet black dragon with realistic yellow, gold eyes curled up in the center. She scowled at the paper, unsatisfied with her art and peeked up over the top of it to watch the guys fight again.

Zabuza was better at defense then offense, just as Kisame was better at offense then defense. This, Anzu concluded, was because of their body types. Zabuza was shorter then Kisame at 5.6 ft (still really tall) and weighed 110 lbs. He was lean and not as muscular as Kisame. This made him more agile and quick. He wasn't necessarily intimidating; Kisame on the other hand was extremely intimidating.

He stood at a towering 6.6 ft and weighed 183 lbs. He had more muscle then most guys his age which of course gave him more physical prowess then most, which he used to his advantage. This made him much better at offense. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't notice the three males stop their training.

"Hey, Zu! Having fun watching from the sidelines?" Zabuza asked slyly causing a tic mark to appear on her forehead. "SHUT UP ZABUZA!" She screeched, causing the two younger males to cower behind a completely oblivious Riku-sensei.

**X**

_Nice going Zabuza, you ass! You know how sensitive she is about not being able to do anything!_ Kisame mentally screamed, glaring daggers at the younger boy. But surprisingly, Anzu calmed down. She took a deep breath and went back to whatever it was she was painting. Unfortunately, Zabuza just seen this as the signal to continue taunting her.

"Hey Zu…" He practically sang her nickname. She ignored him.

"Oh, Zu…" She continued to ignore him.

" HEY ZU!"

"WHAT, DAMN IT, WHAT!!???"

"You're hot." Kisame face palmed. That did it. Anzu grabbed the painting and threw it so hard it hit Zabuza, well it didn't just hit him. His head went straight threw the center of it.

"WHAT THE HELL!" She screamed, and then she grabbed her crutches and hobbled away leaving the 3 guys behind. It was at that moment Riku-sensei begun walking off in a random direction, his normal routine leaving just Zabuza and Kisame. Once they were alone Kisame glared angrily at Zabuza.

"What?" Zabuza asked, though the tone of his voice said he really didn't care. "Why do you do that? You know how testy she is about stuff like that." "Yeah, I know. I just don't care. Besides," he chuckled "it's _fun_." He finally managed to pull the painting off his head and threw it to the ground. He gave Kisame a quick wave and then left.

Kisame stood there for a moment staring after him and then he glanced over to the area Anzu had been sitting at. The easel, her paints and the stool she had been sitting on were still there, along with Yamasota which was leaning up against a tree.

"Hey." Kisame turned around to see Anzu limping back towards him. "Is he gone?" Kisame nodded. She sighed and hopped back over to her area and sat down on the stool again, but this time she dragged Yamasota to her and began running her hand over it, almost lovingly. He stood there and watched her.

To be honest, Anzu was gorgeous. To say she was ugly would mean you had never seen her or you were jealous. She had chest length, wavy black hair that tinted blue in the sunlight and the same unusual eyes full of emotion. She wasn't very tall, 5.5 ft at the most, was slender and curvy. She was a voluptuous teen, which often got her looks from random guys (which bothered both Kisame and Zabuza).

She was currently wearing baggy black cargos; a high collared black spandex t-shirt and a dark blue hoodie with silver wings embroidered on the back. On her feet were a pair of silver high heeled sandals and a large, awkward cast. Already the three of them had each earned themselves a name.

Kisame Hoshigaki: Monster of the hidden mist

Zabuza Mamochi: Demon of the hidden mist

Anzu Yamato: Angel of the hidden mist.

Kisame pondered on how their names fit each of them. He despised his but he had to admit, it fit.

Suddenly there was a large crash and the sound of water crashing towards them. Kisame's head snapped up and his eyes grew large at the sight that was before him. Someone had blew up the dam that held the villages water supply, and all the water was crashing straight towards the village leaving destruction in its wake.

**X**

"As you all know, the events that unfolded last week were horrific and killed off over 200 villagers, along with 10 academy students and 13 shinobi. When first spoken about it may not seem like a lot…" The third's old raspy voice trailed off as he began to stare out the window. "But it was enough to cause big problems."

Anzu watched him intently, waiting to hear the rest of his speech. Exactly one week ago, the Kurosuki Clan had attempted to take over the village by blowing up the damn that held its water supply…

_~Flashback (cuz you know you love'em)~_

_Anzu sat there stroking Yamasota's long, black blade. Suddenly there was a loud crash and what sounded like violent waves heading towards them. She looked up cautiously unsure what to expect. _

"_Kisame, the dam!" She called, quickly latching Yamasota onto her back and hopping onto her feet only to be met with an intense pain. Oh yeah, the broken leg. She growled in frustration as she continued to hobble towards Kisame who was waiting anxiously for her to reach him. _

_Their eyes met for a moment and then they both nodded briskly, understanding the hidden meaning. They both made the same hand signs and called out simultaneously "WATER STYLE: WATER POSSESSION JUTSU!" They then both extended their hands forward as if to push the rabid waters away from them. _

_Then, the grand wall of water stopped, as if it had been frozen and then allowed itself to be moved away from the village. But unfortunately, they hadn't been quick enough…half of the village had already been destroyed…_

_~End Flashback~_

"So, spit it out old man. What do you want us to do?" Zabuza asked impatiently, causing both Kisame and Anzu to twitch at the rudeness he was showing to their father figure. Kisame looked like he was about to retort in the third's defense when the Mizukage cut him off.

"You're quite right, Momochi. I want you three to teach the Kurosuki Clan a lesson." Anzu flinched slightly at the venom in the old man's voice while the other 2 seemed unfazed. "Which means?" Kisame asked. The Mizukage chuckled slightly.

Which means, your next mission is to eliminate half of the Kurosuki clan."

**X**

Kisame fiddled irritably with his communication headset. It was pitch black outside and no moon shone that night making the three chunin invisible in the darkness. "Perfect night for a massacre, huh Kisame?" Asked Zabuza casually.

Kisame grunted a forced agreement. He didn't like the idea of massacring a clan. Their orders were simple, no specifics. Women, men, children, babies, the elderly and the sick. It didn't matter as long as they killed off half of the clan.

"I'm not killing any children." Anzu stated firmly, walking over from her spot in the clearing to stand next to the other two. Zabuza snorted at this, obviously disagreeing with her. "So you're saying you would kill innocent children!" Anzu whispered, though her voice was seeping with poison and disgust. "Have you forgotten Anzu? I killed innocent children before I was even a genin." He responded in a monotone.

Anzu suddenly looked like she'd been slapped, her face twisted with grief and Kisame knew exactly what she was thinking. Mariko.

"Alright you two, enough chit chat." He said trying to distract them from the painful conversation. "I've been put in charge of this mission and I say let's get a move on." He then continued his way through the forest, heading towards the well secluded compound, his mind completely on yet another Mission.

This was just another mission…wasn't it?

**Hope you liked it. The Kurosuki clan is a real clan in Naruto, If you don't know what I'm talking about look it up on Narutopedia! (YAY NARUTOPEDIA!) Until the next chapter. – Lala **


	5. Chapter 5: Maternal Instinct

Different

~Chapter~

Maternal Instinct

Kisame – 16

Anzu – 15

Zabuza – 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I never will.**

**YAY! I made it to chapter 5 without losing interest. (I have a short attention span ^.^')Enjoy people!**

The Mizukage was sitting lazily at his desk, staring out the large picture window that gave him a perfect view of the village. His eyes scanned over the many stone buildings and training grounds. To the naked eye it appeared peaceful, but he new something horrible was going on just on the outskirts. He rested his head in his hands and narrowed is green eyes in thought.

_~Flashback~_

_He watched with a stern gaze as Kisame and the rest of the team began to retreat from his office. "Oh, and Kisame," he said, causing Kisame to stop in his tracks "If you're met with to much resistance…kill them all. If they witness this event it will only lead to them being more against the village." Kisame nodded, his back still turned to the old man as he continued on out into the hallway. _

_~End Flashback~_

The mizukage smirked slightly into his cupped hands. Chances are the Kurosuki family would fight back and then Kisame, Zabuza and Anzu would do as they're told and wipe them all out. Soon, those traitors would be nothing more then a distant memory.

**X**

Anzu was upset to find that the Kurosuki clan had attacked them with everything they had. After they had wiped out those that had been fighting them, Kisame ordered them to split up and kill everyone off. Anzu took the left of the compound, Zabuza took the right and Kisame went straight down the middle. Screams could be heard as people were massacred by her two partners.

She sighed slightly as she kicked the door in of yet another house. There was a young woman, in her early twenties, standing in front of, what appeared to be a bedroom door. A kunai was clenched tightly in her hand as she eyed Anzu with pure hatred. She walked towards the woman slowly, taking in the woman's appearance.

She had sharp features, nice angular cheek bones and sharp eyes. The eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue she had honestly ever seen. The woman's complexion was a nice tan color and she had long chocolate brown hair that reached down to her hips. Though her body was obviously frail her lips were pulled back into a vicious, inhuman snarl.

Anzu tilted her head slightly to the side. What would cause this woman to face someone who was totally out of her league? Why did she stand there and not run away, like every other woman had? She let her eyes drift lazily towards the door behind the rabid woman. Whatever she was protecting was in there. Were there family jewels, or treasures? Anzu smirked. She liked jewels and treasures.

Before you could even blink Anzu threw a kunai which hit the woman right in the chest. The woman collapsed, her frail form unable to move because of the pain she obviously felt. In no time the woman was dead and Anzu daintily stepped over her and opened the door. At first it wouldn't open and Anzu fiddled irritably with the knob. Finally the door swung open. Anzu stopped dead in her tracks.

Behind the door was not a room full of jewels and treasures. It was a child's room. In one corner there was a small twin sized bed and on the other wall was a crib. It was themed to be a little boy's room. Anzu frowned with disappointment and turned to leave but stopped once again when she heard a muffled cry. Something inside her pulled her towards the sound.

She was brought to the crib and curiosity got the better of her. She reached in and pawed lightly at the mass of blankets until she came upon something extremely soft. She unraveled the blankets a bit more and stopped when she realized what that soft thing was. It was a mass of wavy brown hair and attached to the hair was a tiny face. And attached to that tiny face was a tiny body.

It was a baby.

**X**

They young boy ran through the night, his face twisted with panic and fear. He had to run. He yelped with surprise as he suddenly tripped over something and landed roughly on the ground. As he began to right himself once again his eyes widened in horror. Scattered around the compound, and lying in pools of their own blood, was almost the entire Kurosuki Clan.

_~Flashback~ (If flashbacks annoy you that's your problem)_

"_Raiga, I want you to run." He looked up at his mother with wide frightened eyes. There was yet another loud crash as another one of their neighbor's doors was kicked down. The 7 year old boy could faintly hear the panic stricken screams of his clan mates. "RAIGA NOW!" His mother practically screamed. Raiga nodded and swiftly dashed out the window in his living room. Even when he heard his mother's muffled screams he never looked back. _

_~Flashback End~_

He dug into his deep pocket and pulled out the kunai his father had given him before the attack. He fixed his lips into a thin determined line. He was going to save the rest of his clan! He narrowed his eyes as he seen man with a large sword step out of a nearby house. The man was carrying a dead body on his back and when he reached the middle of the street he abruptly dropped it. Raiga began to walk towards the man the grip on his kunai becoming tighter and tighter. Then the man turned to face him and all the determination Raiga had felt moments ago was transformed into pure terror.

He widened his blue eyes once again as the tall man skulked closer, his hand resting on the hilt of an abnormally large sword. Raiga turned to flee but came face to face with a second man. This man also had an abnormally large sword and was tall but this man resembled a shark. "This is the last one…" The sharkman stated grabbing Raiga roughly by the shoulder. Raiga winced but was more concerned about the two menacing mist ninja about to kill him. Raiga opened his mouth to shout for help but no sound came out. This was it, the end. Raiga closed his eyes to brace himself. And then…

"Kisame, Zabuza stop!" He heard a woman's voice say frantically. Her voice was beautiful, almost angelic and made him feel safe. He felt himself become yanked from the grasp of the shark man. He slowly opened his eyes to look at his savior. She was short and young, had long black hair which was now tinted a dark blue and the strangest eyes he had ever seen. He noticed that there was also a small bungle being held close to her chest and he noticed that it was a young baby.

"What the hell, Anzu!? You can't just call off this mission like that! We were told to wipe out the entire Kurosuki clan and then you go and save a bunch of brats!" The one called Zabuza growled angrily. At the sound of his dark voice Raiga pulled himself closer to the woman known as Anzu. "They're not Kurosukis." She stated calmly. Now Raiga looked at her with question along with the other two males. "Not anymore they aren't. These two are now part of the Yamato family. They are _my_ children now." The last part had been growled fiercely and Raiga began to ponder the woman's words. "Anzu…" The shark man trailed of like he ad something to say but then thought better of it. And without saying another word, the woman gently grabbed his hand and led him away, followed by her two companions.

**X**

Anzu had, in reality, no idea what she was doing. She was only 15 and here she was adopting kids like it was the most natural thing in the world. They continued to walk in silence back towards the village, even though now and again Zabuza would mutter something about 'stubborn women'. She glanced over at the boy who was clinging onto her in fear and the baby that was now sleeping comfortably in her arms.

"Anzu, are you an angel?" The little boy asked suddenly, his big blue eyes looking up at her with curiosity. She looked at her feet. "No. Far from it." She muttered. "My name's Raiga." He said and she looked up again just in time to be caught up in his big blue eyes. Then she felt it again, that burn in her chest that had pulled her towards the crib, and had pulled her over to save Raiga. It was an irresistible sting, but it didn't sting in a bad way, it felt nice.

She smiled sweetly at him in response. "Nice to meet you Raiga." With that she glanced back and forth between the baby in her arms and the boy. There was only one word to describe how she felt: _Mine_. As long as she had air in her lungs she would never let anyone harm them because they were now her sons. She pondered this feeling for a brief moment, her eyebrows knitting together in deep thought. This feeling was so different. But, what was it? Sudden realization hit her like a ton of bricks. It was something she had read about and heard about but never experienced.

It was her maternal instinct.

…**.so what did ya think? REVIEW PLZ!!!!**

**Anyways, sorry if I lost a few people in this chapter, I will explain. You see Raiga Kurosuki appears in the anime and not the manga. He apparently hates Zabuza and Kisame for reasons unknown so I decided to make up a reason! (and for all you Suigetsu lovers yes he will be in this story eventually) Sorry If I spelled alota stuff wrong it's 12:30 AM right now and boy am I tired.**


	6. Chapter 6: Enter The Seven

Different

~ Chapter 6 ~

Enter The Seven

Kisame - 18

Anzu – 17

Zabuza – 14

Raiga – 8

Shoda – 2

**WARNING: SWEARING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. **

**Lala - Hi everyone, guess who! It's Lala!**

**Zabuza – Duh.**

**Lala – You shut the hell up! *throws random book at his face***

**Zabuza – *dodges*Hey watch it you bitch! *shakes fist at her***

**Lala – ummm. How about…NO! Now go awaaaayy! *pushes Zabuza off the stage* Ok, I wanted to thank all my loyal reviewers and readers. People who, favourited, alerted and etc. I love you! *starts crying anime tears* You're the best! Anyways (I say that a lot don't I), I have decided that this story is going to be the prequel (if you don't know what that means that's your problem) to another story that will touch base on a few things in this story. In other words THERE'S GONNA BE A SEQUEL! *Confetti falls from ceiling and people start cheering* PS. There's gonna be some fluff in this chapter (I think the first part is really cute ^-^) **

**Zabuza - *throws popcorn at her from seat in front row* WOULD YOU HURRY IT UP! SOME OF US CAN'T STAND THAT ANNOYING VOICE OF YOURS!!!**

**Lala – Alright, alright. Sheesh! So I guess on with the story! *suddenly disappears in a cloud of smoke* POOF!**

**Anzu – * O.O* Is she dead?**

**Kisame & Zabuza – I hope so. **

Anzu smiled victoriously as she finished preparing the food for Raiga's lunch. Gently she took the carefully packaged spring rolls and homemade ramen and arranged them neatly in his lunch box. She then walked over to the front entrance way, where Raiga's school bag laid waiting and placed it in.

Once she was finished with that she tightened the ties of her apron and set to work on breakfast. As she waited for the stove to heat up she glanced out the well washed window that was placed over her sink. It was still fairly dark outside, around 6:30 am, and at first glance it appeared that not even the owls were awake. Her well trained eyes however, could just faintly see the odd ninja either leaving or returning from a mission. She caught a glimpse of the odd Anbu patrolling the boarder and sighed. Everyone was on edge and with good reason.

It had been a year since she had adopted Raiga and the little baby, whom she had named Shoda, after her father. It had taken awhile but she had finally convinced the Mizukage that it would be a good idea to let her train and raise the two of them. The Third Mizukage…she missed that old man. He had died little over a month ago and he had still not been replaced.

During the past year a lot had happened. Raiga had adapted to his surroundings, even calling her mother once or twice (then looking a little embarrassed after). Little Shoda's first word had been mama and it had been directed at her. She smiled as a familiar, warm feeling weld up in her chest. She was glad that the two of them considered her a mother. Kisame, Zabuza and herself had been accepted into the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Kisame and Zabuza often took the role of Raiga and Shoda's father figures (along with the other 4 members of the swordsmen who were also male). Raiga however, seemed to hold quite a bit of resentment towards Kisame and Zabuza, which made Anzu worry.

She was suddenly knocked out of her thoughts by the sound of muffled crying and sighed. One thing about Shoda; he was, unfortunately, an early riser. She quickly set the last plate of food on the table, knowing that Shoda was like an alarm clock for the rest of the household, and began to make her way upstairs only to hit her nose on something rock hard. She smiled and looked up. "Good morning Kisame." Kisame looked a little disgruntled (A/N: yes it's a word!) in the morning. His dark blue hair was all over the place and he always looked extremely grumpy. Kisame was not a morning person. He was lazily holding Shoda with one arm while Shoda pawed at a strand of his messy hair, giggling each time Kisame winced because the little boy had pulled to hard. She also felt herself giggle at the face Kisame made. "I'll take him." She said extending her arms up, feeling pleasure when Kisame placed the boy in her arms. As she cuddled Shoda towards her Raiga stumbled down the stairs, smiling at Anzu and Shoda, and then glaring at Kisame. "Raiga, stop glaring. It is unbecoming to a young boy." She placed a hand on his head while at the same time shooing him into the kitchen. Kisame followed them and sat down at his normal spot t the kitchen table, Raiga and Anzu did the same.

The table was a fair sized, square shaped, oak table. The food Anzu prepared was placed in the middle. Kisame sat at the head of the table, while Anzu sat on the end. Raiga sat in the middle across from an empty chair and Shoda sat in a high chair that faced Anzu so she could feed him and tend to him during meals.

So far, everything was going smoothly. Raiga was trying to convince Anzu that it would be a good idea to get an indoor exercise room, while Kisame read the latest mission report he had been asked to go over before handing it in. As breakfast neared a close Anzu was beginning to believe that it would, for once, end without incident. But, unfortunately, Raiga decided to pick a verbal fight with Kisame which, resulted in the whole kitchen, including the people in it, being covered in food. Ah, the glory of food fights. "ALRIGHT THAT'S IT YOU TWO, I'VE HAD ENOUGH! EITHER THIS WHOLE MESS IS CLEANED UP IMMEDIATELY OR I'LL BEAT YOU BOTH TO A BLOODY PULP!" She screamed before grabbing the completely oblivious baby and heading upstairs to clean him up.

**X**

Raiga tapped his pencil lightly on his desk, his eyes staring sightlessly out the window. It was winter now in the village and when winter hit the village it hit hard. Automatically there was 3 feet of snow on the ground. Raiga smiled slightly. Because of the fact that there's so much snow, the ninja trained here have proven themselves to be the most adaptable. The bell rang and he abruptly stood up, trying his best to avoid his fangirls.

When he successfully managed to get outside he was pelted by several snow balls and he smiled but at the same time glared at his best friend. Chojuro was standing right in front of him, another snowball in his hand. Raiga quickly made a snowball and hit Chojuro right in the face. The remnants of the snowball slid off of his face only to reveal a large grin. "Hey!" Chojuro called. Raiga smiled and waved back.

This was normal routine. Chojuro and Raiga would walk home together. Chojuro lived a few houses down with his father. Chojuro's father hated Raiga's so called 'family' for reasons that Raiga couldn't understand. Of course there were many reasons. Kisame has been shunned all his life, Raiga's from the traitorous Kurosuki Clan and many people unjustly consider Anzu a whore. Raiga new that wasn't true though. Anzu, his mother, was nothing like that.

"Hey, Raiga," Chojuro began quietly. Raiga turned his head to look at him. "Yeah?" "Why do you hate Kisame and Zabuza so much?" Chojuro looked over at Raiga curiously and Raiga sighed. "Because they killed my family." "So did Miss. Anzu." "Yeah, but she repented." Chojuro tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean repented?" "I mean, yeah she killed my family, but she made up for it by taking Shoda and me in. She saved our lives." "Oh." With that the boys went on to lighter subjects like the winter festival and what they were having for dinner. They were truly best friends.

**X**

Anzu looked around her large living room which was now filled with 6 other swordsmen. Captain Toshirou, their so called 'leader', with his almighty wisdom had decided that they should have a meeting at Anzu's place. So after she had sent Raiga off to school she had set to work with making snacks for them to munch on. She examined her teammates carefully.

First there was 'Captain' Toshirou Saito. He was average height and had messy raven black hair and forest green eyes. He was, as of a week ago, 31 years old. He had a nice family. He had a wife named Kaori (who had long orange hair, grey eyes) and 3 children. His eldest's child's name was Dai who was 12 years old and looked exactly like his father. His two youngest kids were twins. Noriko and Toshiro (Nori and Toshi). They both had their father's black hair and their mother's grey eyes. They were currently 2 years old, which was good because on occasion Kaori and herself would organize play dates with Shoda.

Then there was Zabuza Momochi, of course. Still the same asshole she grew up with.

Then there was Minoru Hozuki. He was a large, intimidating man with deep purple eyes and straight silver hair. He had sharp pointed teeth (like many of the swordsmen) and he constantly wore a smirk (which annoyed Kisame and Toshirou to no end). Minoru was still a young man, 28 years old. He had no wife (anymore) but he did have 2 sons. His eldest son was 4 years old and his name was Mangetsu. His youngest's name was Suigetsu, who was about 2 years old. Both boys were smaller versions of their father, though Suigetsu looked like he was going to grow up to be more lean then his father.

Next on the list was Sachio Nakamura, who gave Anzu the creeps. He was a man in his mid 30's with long blackish gray hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail. Around his eyes was completely black and his eyes were lilac colored. He was, for lack of a better word, an egotistical jackass. He was the head of the Nakamura clan and thought everyone else was bellow him. He had a wife Chisaki (who was a bitch), and 3 children. His eldest was a young boy named Akihito, which was funny because his appearance contradicted the name. Akihito was 9 years old and looked exactly like his father. He was usually, for some reason; the one Sachio always chose to scowl at. His middle child was a boy named Kenji. Kenji was 6, had his father's hair but his mother's sapphire eyes. Sachio ignored him like he didn't exist. Then, came his youngest. A 2 year old girl by the name of Akemi (or Kemi-kitten). She had pure, jet black hair and light lilac colored eyes. She was adorable but more importantly she was a genius. At two years old she had already activated her clan trait not to mention the fact she could speak extremely well, write and read. She was the one Sachio paid attention to.

Next was Kisame. Same old, same old.

Then came Botan Kimura. He was half immortal, meaning he didn't age but he could still die from diseases and wounds. He had short white hair and unusual orange eyes. He appeared to be in his late teens but in reality he was 83 years old. He was the strategist of the group. He had no family but he did have a snow white female cat, with sapphire eyes whom he had named Kurohana. Kurohana was a kitten, and she also didn't age. She was constantly perched cutely on Botan's shoulder.

Anzu watched with a smirk on her face as the so called 'macho' men played with the small boy. One thing was for sure, Shoda was never ignored. As soon as he entered a room he commanded all attention. She giggled as the little boy curiously wandered over to where Toshirou was talking sullenly with Zabuza, and hugged Zabuza's leg. It was cute the way Zabuza looked like he didn't know what to do and then cautiously reached down and patted him on the head.

Toshirou laughed heartily at the sight while Zabuza glared at him in return. Toshirou reached down and scooped up the toddler, smiling when the boy began reaching for the hilt of his gigantic sword. "Oh no, You can't have one of these…yet." He said winking. Shoda giggled. "Mama!" The little boy said reaching his arms out towards her. She walked over to Toshirou, took the boy from him and then made her way back over to the couch, where Yamasota was leaning up against the arm rest.

She watched as the curious little boy played with the blue ribbon that was tied to its hilt and then shifted his attention to the black dragon that was engraved on it. The little boy reached out and gently ran his finger up its long body and then stopped when his finger reached the dragon's red eyes. "Mama, why that dragon there?" Anzu smiled and moved her finger so it could trace the dragon also. "Well, the dragon symbolizes luck and good fortune." The little boy eyed the sword one more time before turning his attention to the other swordsmen. Though they weren't showing it, they had all been eavesdropping on the little boy and his 'mama'. Suddenly, Anzu stood up clapping her hands together. "Okay! Who wants snacks!?"

**Okay. So I know what you're thinking. 'that chapter was useless, nothing happened.' Well to those of you who are thinking that, READ THE CHAPTER AGAIN! Lots happened. Relationships, rivalries, friendships and I just introduced almost a whole cast of new characters for the sequel. PS: I told some of you that Chojuro wasn't going to be in this story…well I'm sorry because at first I didn't think he was going to be but, then I thought, 'hey Raiga needs a best friend.' So there! And to you Suigetsu lovers, there's Suigetsu. Satisfied?**

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	7. Chapter 7: Bonds, Trust & The Blind

Different

~Chapter 7~

Bonds, Trust & The blind

Anzu – 20

Kisame – 21

Zabuza – 18

Raiga – 11

Shoda – 5

**Guess what! I'm now 14 years old *does a stupid looking happy dance* and because of that I would like to dedicate this chapter to all of my friends here on **

**WARNING: Swearing, violence etc.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.**

**Ps: I rewrote this chapter 5 times, NOT EXADGERATING! By the end I wanted to rip my hair out!!! (My poor hair…)Nothing much happens but I promise that in the next chapter there will be action! I'm not sure what…but still! ACTION!!! Also, if you haven't already caught on almost every chapter there are time skips. That will be slowing down with in the next few chapters. **

**--Lot's a drama and confusing things in this chapter!!!!—Read carefully!!!**

The brunette boy growled under his breath and narrowed his eyes at his sensei. She merely smiled back innocently. "What's the mater Chojuro? I thought you wanted to be a swordsmen, is this training to hard for you?" She taunted tucking a stray strand of her wavy black hair behind her ear.

A year ago, Anzu Yamato had taken Chojuro on as her apprentice and believe me, the training was far from easy. Chojuro continued to glare at her from his position on the ground. His sensei smirked, flashing a set of sharp, signature swordsmen, teeth. She walked forward and knelt down so her nose was only an inch or two away from his own.

"Are you ready to quit?" An inhuman snarl erupted from Chojuro's throat and he abruptly sprung up swinging his training katana towards his sensei. Startled she jumped back a few feet and drew her own katana out. The boy lunged forward and soon the two of them were locked in close combat. To the naked eye, the two ninja were only blurs against the blue sky. After about half an hour of this they both grew tired and the woman raised her hand up in a signal to stop.

Chojuro slumped to the ground grateful for the break while at the same time understanding how this woman had made it into the swordsmen. She was actually going easy on him, not even using 10% of her chakra, still it had taken everything he had to keep up with her. He looked up at the petite young woman who was still standing straight up, only her heavy but silent breathing giving away the fact that she was tired. It was then he realized something. Something wasn't right…but what? "Hey, Anzu sensei?"

"What?" Came her exhausted and irritated reply.

"…Nothing." _Why is she so tired? She barley used any of her chakra..._Suddenly Anzu collapsed to the ground, her hands clutching her head in pain. She wreathed on the ground a low hiss escaping her lips. "Sensei!" Chojuro called rushing over to her. He placed his hand on Anzu's shoulder only to have her body shrug away from him.

Crimson liquid leaked from her closed eyes and flaring nostrils. She opened her mouth in a blood curdling scream of pain and then just as quickly as it had started it stopped. Her body fell limp, her hands dropped from her head and her breathing quieted to an inaudible wheeze. Chojuro grabbed her wrist trying desperately to find a pulse. He sighed in relief when he found one but that feeling was short lived when he realized that her pulse was growing fainter and fainter. Thinking quickly the small boy threw the woman onto his back and took off towards the hospital.

**X**

Anzu was suddenly very aware of the fact that she was lying in a hospital bed. She gripped the sheets viciously as pain flooded into the back of her eyes and a headache made itself known. She sat up hoping that it would make the pain stop, but it only succeeded in making her dizzy.

"Ow." She whimpered slightly raising a hand to her clammy forehead. "Anzu-sensei!" She heard a familiar voice call and turned her head to see a worried looking Chojuro. He was sitting in a chair next to her bed, dark circles under his eyes. "What…happened?" Anzu asked slowly, sounding dazed and confused. Chojuro opened his mouth to say something but was silenced by a high pitched "MOMMY!" Anzu extended her arms out so she could hug her youngest son, who had ran through the door and flung himself at her.

She stroked his hair to calm the sobbing little boy as more people entered the room. "Shoda, I'm okay, it's okay." She whispered and soon the little boy had stopped crying. "Mother." She looked up and smiled at Raiga who had followed Shoda in, letting him know she was okay. She looked around Raiga to see Zabuza and Kisame hovering near the door looking clearly worried.

Suddenly, a man she had never seen before walked over and began talking to them. By his long white coat and scrubs she assumed he was a doctor. She observed them as both Kisame and Zabuza's worried expressions turned to that of relief and slight confusion. The doctor nodded once and then walked over to where Anzu and the kids were, followed closely by the two swordsmen.

"Anzu Yamato, I would like to speak to you...just us adults." He said silently gesturing to the three children. "Shoda, I would really like some take out, cause hospital food is yucky! You think you could be a big boy and go and buy me something to eat?" Anzu cooed to Shoda. The little boy looked up and nodded viciously with determination, like a genin who had been given his first real, out of the country mission. "Take Raiga and Chojuro too." She added hastily and watched as the three boys left the room, Raiga giving her one last glance before he left.

"Miss. Yamato. When you were first brought through the door, we feared the worst. You were bleeding heavily from your eyes, nose and mouth. Your lungs were filled with blood…as was your stomach…" He trailed off. "My stomach was full of blood…that's weird." Anzu said merely raising an eyebrow. The doctor nearly fell over at the sound of her casual and uncaring voice. He cleared his throat though, and regained his composure then continued.

"Well, you see, after numerous tests we determined that you have activated your family's kekkei genkai (A/N: I can't spell that -_-')." Anzu's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. "W-what? B-but my family's kekkei genkai has been lost for over 50 years, ever since we began to marry into civilian families!" The doctor shook his head. "Our studies show that you did in fact inherit it from your father…he must have been hiding it for some reason…"

Kisame looked over at Anzu. "You mean the Yamato family has a clan trait?" Anzu nodded. "You see, the Yamato family wasn't always just a family, it was once a clan. It was one of the biggest clans in Water country, actually. And like all big clans, there was a clan trait…" Kisame nodded satisfied but Zabuza tilted his head to the side. "How does it work?"

"It's an eye trait. In its first stage the user is able to tell if someone is lying to them. In its second stage the user is able to see through all henge and genjutsu. In its third stage the user is able to see another person's future plans and intensions. The Yamato kekkei genkai, if fully developed, is every ninja's worst enemy because it deprives them of the ability to deceive. However the down side is that it takes years to fully develop it, even prodigies have been known to take over 20 years to get to the _second_ stage."

"What's it called?" Zabuza asked, interest sparked in the depths of his dark eyes. "There is no name for it…there was once, but my clan, er, family forgot about it when we started to lose the ability to use it." The doctor cleared his throat calling attention to himself once more. "A curious fact," he stated "is that your kekkei genkai is already fully developed…all three stages. With your body going through these stages so quickly, it's surprising that you didn't die…"

"Fully…developed…" Anzu clenched the sheets in her hands and looked down at her lap. "How is that possible? I've never worked with it before…I didn't even know I had it." "Maybe you have and you just never noticed?" Kisame offered, but it sounded more like a question. The doctor began going into boring body statistics and Anzu zoned out, really not caring.

"When can I leave?" She asked flatly. "Wh-what? , you almost died!" The doctor exclaimed, arms in the air and eyes wide. "Yeah, so?" "…" The doctor was silent for a few moments. "Immediately if you wish."

**X**

It was night time and all was silent except for the occasional sound of kunai striking wood. The cold northern breeze rustled the leafy trees, signaling that winter, a common season in the land of water, was on its way.

A tall, shark like man was standing in a clearing which appeared to be a backyard training area. With him, a little brunette boy that looked to be no more then 5 years old. The two of them faced a row of well used wooden targets that were opposite of a house. The man threw a kunai easily and hit the bull's-eye of the target. The little boy bit his lip and carefully positioned himself before throwing his kunai also. It hit the target, but nowhere near the center.

Discouragement flashed in the young boy's eyes but was quickly silent when the man bent down and pointed to his feet, telling him what he was doing wrong. The boy nodded with determination and then repositioned himself according to the man's pointers. He threw his kunai, this time hitting on the ring just outside the bull's-eye. He smiled, looking up at the man and was greeted with an encouraging grin.

A woman was watching from the porch of the house. The two hadn't seemed to notice her. She was wearing a light blue satin night gown that went to her knees and over it was a long royal blue night coat that dragged on the ground. She shifted her bare feet quietly, so as not to disturb them. She leaned on one of the wooden columns and smiled as the man ruffled the boy's hair as a sign that he was impressed.

"You don't actually trust him do you?" She jumped slightly. She turned to send Raiga a scolding glare. "Why shouldn't I?" Raiga stepped forward until he was practically shoulder to shoulder with his 'mother'. "Because, he's a cold hearted bastard." Raiga replied bluntly. "Raiga. You are a very skilled boy. You are already an extremely good swordsmen…you're the strongest genin in the village. You'll be going to the chunin exams very soon...But," Raiga who had been smiling at the praise turned to look at her and frowned suddenly. "You are blind." The 11 year old brunette raised an eyebrow, a silent 'what the heck is that supposed to mean!?'.

"You also hold grudges, that's extremely unhealthy. This…anger, you hold inside you which you direct at Kisame and Zabuza is unhealthy, not to mention wrong." Her voice was coming out rapidly, a signal to him that he had struck a nerve. Normally, he would stop when he was ahead…but he wanted to know what she was blabbing on about. "It's not _wrong_, in fact it's very just. They killed my family!"

"So did I."

"But that's different."

"How?"

"You actually regret it!"

"How do you know I regret it? Guilt and regret are two separate things." She snapped. Raiga was about to retort but he stopped. How _did_ he know she regretted it? Feeling defeated and confused by this encounter he turned and began to make his way inside. Anzu suddenly felt very angry with herself. How could she say those things to him? She didn't really mean them. _Or did I?_ Whether she meant them or not it was still wrong. She had to apologize. "Rai-" She spun around to see he was already gone.

She sighed. _Fuck me…_

**Told ya there was some confusing stuff in this chapter. My friends thought the kekkei genkai stuff and Anzu n' Raiga's verbal fight was confusing so I thought I'd warn you… Please review.**


	8. Chapter 8: Confessions & Bravery

Different

~Chapter 8~

Confessions and Bravery

Anzu – 23

Kisame – 24

Zabuza – 21

Raiga – 14

Shoda - 8

**Disclaimer: lala Shaknmu doesn't own naruto. She only owns Anzu & Shoda Yamato.**

**Lala – Ohayo everybody! Been a long time and I'm very sorry but I went through a point where I started to get bored with Naruto.**

**Anzu/Swordsmen - *LE GASP***

**Zabuza – You bitch!**

**Lala – I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I LOVE YOU ALL! **

**Anzu/Swordsmen - …*cricket, cricket***

**Kisame- Well…as long as you're sorry…**

**Lala – Oh I am! Very, very sorry! I would also like to say sorry to my beloved readers. Summer's coming and I will most likely have plenty of time on my hands to write.**

**Anzu & Shoda – YAYYYY!**

**Lala – I know people don't usually read these things but if you are reading this I would like to say that I am co writing a story with Hell's demon butterfly and Heavenlywolfdemon called "Sisters and their troubles" but there's a bit of a type-o in the title so it's "Sisters and there troubles" but eh- whatcha gonna do. It's on Hell's demon butterfly's account so don't go looking for it on mine.**

**Raiga – Are you done?**

**Lala – Yeah…jeez…so cold…*runs off to corner of woe (also known as emo corner)***

**Anzu – Um…enjoy the story everyone.**

**Shoda – Yeah!**

**HH**

Anzu sighed as she walked through the village's gates, scowling. It was a dark and gloomy day, the mist that gave the village its name hovering around. She glanced up at the sky her eyes betraying her true feelings of self loathing. The clouds were heavy and dark, as per usual, and she felt a rain drop fall onto her cheek.

She looked at the ground as she walked her black hair beginning to stick to her face. A single piece of round stale bread rolled towards her and her eyes widened slightly. Looking up she spotted a little girl cowering in fear behind a piece of well smashed stone wall. Anzu looked around making sure no one was watching before stooping to pick up the piece of bread and cautiously sidling up to the girl.

"Was this yours?" She whispered. The little girl nodded hesitantly whimpering and Anzu felt like bursting out crying. "I won't hurt you, and I won't tell anyone, don't worry. Here." She assured the girl before handing her the piece of bread. The little girl snatched it away and took off running. This didn't hurt Anzu's feelings, she understood. Children now days were taught to hate and fear the swordsmen.

The bloody mists, that's what the village was called now.

She turned around only to come face to face, or should I say face to chest with Kisame Hoshigaki. She smiled innocently up at him. "I saw that Anzu, but I won't tell." Anzu giggled. "I knew you wouldn't. You're just a big teddy bear!" Kisame rolled his eyes at her causing her to laugh more.

In truth it wasn't all that funny, but there was just something about him that made her want to laugh…even in times such as these and she knew what it was. She'd known for a year or so now, she loved him but she didn't know how he felt. She was always considered so brave by the people in the village and by her comrades, in her son's eyes she was fearless but she was not brave enough to admit her feelings, she wasn't even brave enough to cry.

She felt his hand on her shoulder and she glanced up, her eyes suddenly clouded with pain. "How long has it been Kisame…since the revolution?"

"A year." Kisame growled out angered by the very idea of it. Exactly one year ago, an assassin had slipped past Anbu's nets and murdered the Mizukage. Instead of electing a new Mizukage, the elder council took over, rationing families, cutting jobs and promoting poverty. Basically if someone in your family wasn't at least jonin level your family had no hope at surviving and even then it was hard. Medical costs were raised and they put a fee on the Academy. Many families couldn't afford it, so they tried to leave but were only killed trying.

The swordsmen became the council's slaves. The threat: Killing their families. Many in the swordsmen had families that they loved very much and the ones that didn't were good friends of those that did. Besides if they didn't want to co-operate then the ones of the swordsmen that were going to were going to have to get ride of them. Thus eliminating the swordsmen. The council had hatched the perfect plot to complete control of the village. If you could call it a village anymore.

Some people had fought back and the swordsmen had been forced to kill them. In the eyes of the people the swordsmen were no longer considered protectors, but monsters. "Kisame. I hate myself." She whispered as they walked toward her home down the abandoned street trying not to attract any attention. She couldn't take it anymore, she blew up. "Look what we're doing to these people! Our people! We're murdering them! I-" She was cut off as he suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a warm hug. The rain still beating down onto them mercilessly.

She burst out crying her first tears in a long time dripping down her cheeks and onto his black Anbu shirt. He just hugged her tighter.

"This is only the second time I've seen you cry." He muttered. "Remember that day. All those years ago, when we first met…?" She looked up into his eyes attempting to stop the tears. "You cried then too. It's nostalgic really. Look." He nodded behind her and she turned her gaze there also. There it was the park where they'd first met. But now it was falling apart, the ground muddy and free of grass, the rope swings broken and the climbing structures weathered and bent.

But to her it was the most beautiful sight in the world.

She felt a hand on her cheek and she directed her attention back to him, blushing for probably the first time in her life. "Kisame I-" She began but he cut her off. "I need to tell you something and I'm going to cut straight to the point. Anzu, I love you. I've loved you for a very long time and-" Her lips pressed to his her eyes now dry of any tears she had been shedding. The two were engrossed in a passionate kiss. They broke apart and Anzu began giggling at his shocked face.

"You sure know how to make a girl feel better." She murmured before kissing his cheek and grabbing his hand. "Shoda freaks out anymore if I'm not home when he is, so we should get going." He frowned a little, disappointed, but let her lead him to her house.

She had seven keys for each of the seven locks on her front door and then activated the chakra seal. She feared for Shoda in such troubling times and she had become over protective. When she finally managed to open the door she stepped in only to find small drops of blood on the light hardwood floor.

She flinched and immediately freaked. "Sh-Shoda! Shoda!"

"I'm right here mom!" The boy's voice sounded from the kitchen and she sighed in relief. She looked behind her at Kisame and nodded for him to come in and he did. She closed the door and continued the long process of locking the door before heading to the kitchen, Kisame close behind. "Shoda why's there blood on the-What happened!" She exclaimed as the boy came into view holding a bloodied piece of cloth to his forehead.

"I, um…KISAME!" The boy exclaimed running forward and giving his legs a hug.

The man laughed slightly, patting the kid on the head before his face grew stern. "Answer your mom kid." He urged. Anzu had by now magically produced band-aids and was sticking them on him. "YOU'RE COVERED IN CUTS! OH MY POOR BABY!" She exclaimed as she found yet _another_ cut on his tiny body.

"Well?" Kisame asked still waiting for an answer. "Um…well. Some kids at the academy, well um, they were picking on Noriko and Akemi. I told them to go away and they started throwing rocks at us." Anzu stopped bandaging the gash on his head briefly but then started again.

"What did you do next?" Kisame asked curiously.

" I used some of that Taijutsu you taught me! I punched one of 'em right in the face and then the others ran away scared when Suigetsu and Toshiro showed up!" He said excitedly, turning towards Anzu is eyes big and innocent and his expression content.

"I was brave mama! Just like you and Kisame and big brother!" Anzu gave him an obviously fake smile, but he didn't know that.

"Yes you were. Brave."


	9. Chapter 9: Some Mornings Suck Balls

Different

~Chapter 9~

Some Mornings Suck Balls

**Lala: Hi people! Don't have much to say except if there is someone here who is really good at drawing and is up for the challenge I'm looking for someone to draw my characters, from not just this story but my others aswell. Though, if you only want to do this story I'm cool with that. Please visit my profile for details. There's a section that says; ****IMPORTANT NOTE FOR DRAWERS**** or something along those lines. **

**Anzu: This chapter is really fluffy! And there are hints of what Kisame and I did last night XD**

**Lala: …Yeah. There is. But it's mostly pure fluff, but there's some key info in this chappy to so pay close attention!**

**Shoda: Mommy! What did you and Kisame do last night?**

**Anzu: …**

**Lala: *snickers* **

**Anzu: We…um…played checkers?**

**Shoda: Ew. Why would you play checkers mama? Checkers are for old people! **

**Anzu: *relief*…Please enjoy the next chapter.**

**Lala: I DON'T OWN NARUTO!**

The next morning was an uncharacteristically bright and beautiful day.

That could only mean something bad…

Anzu woke up sliding out from under the covers, careful not to wake up the sleeping Kisame who had 'spent the night'. She tiptoed over to the closet, slipped on a nightgown and a night coat, before pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

She yawned once, roughly rubbing the bridge of her nose in an attempt to wake herself up **(A/N: I do this. You people should try it sometime, it works for me!)** as she descended the steps and made her way to the kitchen. Of course, half way down the 'steep' (In the half awake Anzu's opinion) stairs she tripped and fell (gracefully) the rest of the way landing on her stomach with her butt in the air.

She stayed in that position for a good 2 minutes, trying to figure out what happened. Groaning, she gave up then flipped on her back and sat up rubbing the back of her head. "Real fucking graceful…" She mumbled standing up in a wobbly fashion and shuffling to the kitchen.

"Coffeeeeee…." She fumbled hopelessly with the instant coffee and the spoon, squinting at it **(A/N: I do this also.)**. Finally she managed to get that part sorted out and then decided it was time to stand and stare at the stupid cupboard (that was at least 1.5 ft higher then she was)that she kept the glasses and coffee mugs in.

She began stretching for it but another hand shot out from over top her head, opened it and grabbed two mugs before closing it again with a slam. She stood frozen in place for a few minutes, in that awkward reaching position, before deciding to forget about it. She turned around to see Kisame, fully dressed in his Anbu uniform, filling up the two mugs with the now made coffee.

"You're a complete retard in the morning." He commented, Anzu merely glared and snatched away her cup, gulping its contents down in 5 seconds, before filling it up again and going to join Kisame, who had migrated to the kitchen table.

"Yeah, well. I will be a retard in the morning but after that I will be smart. You will be blue in the morning and after that you will still be blue." Kisame laughed at her sad attempt at a comeback. "I like being blue so that statement is really ineffective. Plus, it barely made sense…" Anzu grunted, finishing her second cup and then moved towards the fridge to get the ingredients for breakfast.

There was a comfortable silence as Anzu went about her business and Kisame sipped his coffee, looking over a file he had been reading from last night. "What's with the file?" Anzu asked curiously, setting down two very large plates of food in front of both him and herself. He was silent for a moment.

"You know how Botan Kimura was forced out of the village last month and Raiga took his place?" Anzu nodded her eyes dimmed at the mention of the oldest member of the Seven.

Botan had been loyal to Kirigakure, having lived there for well over 100 years, and had attempted to assassinate the council, but he had been caught by Sachio and Minoru who were on duty. Instead of killing him, like they were supposed to, the Hozuki and the Nakamura had told him to flee the village. They would rather their long time comrade be alive and not punished for something that was potentially GOOD for the village.

As was tradition the leader of the seven would select someone new to take his place. Toshiro picked Raiga Kurosuki, formerly Yamato, who over the last little while had suddenly become so much better at detecting enemies, not even Anzu knew how. That had been over two months ago and Anzu still found herself wondering about Botan. If he was okay and what he was now doing to make a living.

"Well, I started doing some background research on him on the council's request. I found a lot of juicy information they'd probably like to know but I've decided to be greedy and keep it for myself." Anzu looked to him with curiosity, wondering where this conversation was heading. "He has a son. And a daughter."

"So? I have a son, two if you count Raiga." Kisame chuckled. "It's not that he has children that is the interesting part. His son's name is Hidan. He's an S-class, immortal, criminal. He's more immortal then Botan. Botan can't die of old age but he can from wounds; this guy can't die _at all_."

Anzu nearly choked on the egg she had been shoving in her mouth.

"Really? Wow."

"That's not even the most amazing part. Remember that criminal organization the council's been having us search for? Akatsuki?"

"Wild fucking goose chase."

"It's not! Apparently, they've been trying to get this Hidan guy to join for a year now."

"Seriously? So Akatsuki is real…" She leaned back in her chair. "What about the daughter?"

"Her name is Rikuya. She has been a loose canon since birth, never having any village association. She could be strong, with training, but she's only 12. Nothing real impressive, but she's a full immortal like her half brother."

"Huh? Half-brother, eh?"

"Yeah. Two different mothers same father. They probably don't even know each other exist."

"Hn. They might be worth looking into a bit more…" Kisame nodded his head in agreement before the two heard fast paced foot steps coming there way and Shoda burst into the kitchen.

"Yeah! FOOD!" The little boy yelled appreciatively taking a spot at the table next to Kisame while Anzu giggled and got up to fetch him a plate. Anzu leaned against the counter and watched with half lidded eyes as Kisame and Shoda talked animatedly.

It was so blissful and jovial in her home that Anzu almost forgot what a mess the rest of the village was, and briefly wondered if the rest of the swordsmen had also begun to become ignorant. No matter how hard they tried to forget, Kirigakure, their _true_ home was in danger of becoming only a bad memory. Something _needed_ to be done at _any_ cost. At least that's the way she felt.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, faint, but a knock none the less. Shoda didn't seem to notice but Kisame's eyes subtly flicked in that direction. She sighed and walked to the door, smiling when she noticed both Samehada and Yamasota leaning menacingly, side by side, in the entrance way. She carefully opened all the locks and slid the door open just a tiny crack.

To her relief it was Minoru Hozuki and not some random Anbu requesting her presence at the Mizukage's building…or should she say the council's building.

"Hey Minoru. Wanna come in? We're just having breakfast." The older man smiled but shook his head. "No thanks. I just came to tell you that Toshirou wants us all to meet at base 4, tonight at 8 sharp. He says we're welcome to leave our kids with Kaori."

"Oh. Ok thanks I'll tell Kisame." Honestly, Anzu wasn't very pleased with this arrangement. She HATED meetings because they were long and boring and wasted her fucking time. Not to mention the guys would all get in a fight at least once. Stupid men. This morning was really starting to suck.

"Oh he's here is he?" The silver haired man taunted playfully. "I went to his place but he wasn't there. I wondered where he took off to." Minoru laughed as Anzu's face started to turn red, his sharpened teeth showing. Without another word she slammed the door in his face, locked it, and stomped back to the kitchen. "Jerk off…"

Shoda and Kisame sat completely still, frozen fearing her wrath, only their eyes following her across the room.

Finally kisame decided he should say something. "Um. Who was that?" Anzu sat down on the counter huffily. "Minoru. The captain wants us to meet him at base 4, 8 o'clock tonight, sharp."

Yup, this morning sucks balls.


	10. Chapter 10: Kicking A Man When He's Down

Different

~Chapter 10~

Kicking A Man When He's Down

**Lala: I got swarmed by bees today while minding my own business and got stung 10 times. 3 times on my back, 2 times on my face and the rest on my arms. It hurts…on the bright side, my parents are babying me. '^.^ Therefore they aren't making me do chores and I have been given more time to write! I'm glad I'm not allergic to bees or else I'd be dead…Please enjoy this next chapter!**

**A/N: Just to let you know, the swordsmen is divided up into partners. Captain Toshirou Saito, the leader, has no partner. Partners are Kisame & Zabuza, Sachio & Minoru and Anzu & Raiga (used to be Anzu & Botan but he defected).**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO!**

The 7 Swordsmen had 4 Bases in total and then an HQ.

The HQ building was across the street from the Mizukages building, though not so obvious. It was only a small building, appearing to be about the size of a tea shop. At first glance it didn't look important, unlike the Mizukage's building which had the village's symbol etched across a large colourful sign, that hung over the giant glass doors.

Base 1 was the Western base, which was closest to the mainland of the elemental countries. It was hidden in dense pine forests and surrounded by hundreds of traps.

Base 2 was the Northern base. The north of the land of waves was warm and famous for its beaches during the summer.

Base 3 was the Eastern base was the twin to Base 1.

Base 4 was an underground base located far to the south of Kirigakure, extremely close to the edge of the main island(The Land Of Water is a giant Island surrounded by mini islands that, although close, are not considered part of the country); The closest port to the base was the one that led to the Land of Snow. Kirigakure was strange in that the farther south you went the colder it got.

This was where Captain Toshirou Saito had asked (told) the swordsmen to meet.

The swordsmen stood along the walls of the damp cave each covered completely by shadow. Anzu's damp hair clung to her face and her clothes to her body. It was so damp that there were shallow little pools on the floor caused by the melting ice stalactites hanging from the stone ceiling. Normal people would be uncomfortable.

The swordsmen _loved_ it.

However much they loved the damp, cold environment they were all growing impatient. They were waiting for Toshirou, who was over 2 hours late.

Anzu shifted anxiously, gazing at the dark tunnel entrance, as the cave was under ground or, more specifically, under a lake. Toshirou was always punctual, usually always the first one there as was expected from the leader of the seven. Had something happen to him? She frowned after a couple minutes of staring and felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

She gazed up and her well trained eyes could just barely make out the tall, well built form of Kisame. She let her worry shine through her eyes and she noticed how he twitched his mouth in agreement, observing the rest of the swordsmen, she realized they were all also showing worry in their own way.

Minoru Hozuki was leaning up against the wall silently, watching water drip off of the stalactites and to his eye level. Every now and then his arm would shoot out and he would flick a drop in mid air, watching the water explode in silence, his eyes dancing with brief amusement before returning to boredom once more.

Sachio Nakamura, Minoru's partner, stood there with hands in his pockets and had taken to glaring at a poor innocent pool of water at his feet, his glare only worsening when the surface would ripple because a drop would hit. He must have thought something imperfect about that poor puddle, Anzu had mused.

Raiga Kurosuki (He had changed his name back), her partner and the youngest and brashest of the group, was occupying himself by crushing stray pebbles under his feet.

Zabuza Momochi, Kisame's partner, was sharpening his sword, causing the odd 'shing' sound to echo through the cave.

Kisame was merely standing next to her, arm wrapped around her waist, though it was so dark no one could probably see the mild intimate scene. She laid her head on his shoulder her eyes shifting once more to the cave entrance, though no Toshirou appeared.

"Argh! I can't take it anymore! Where the hell is he!" Raiga's voice cut through the silence and the rest reacted, some with annoyance, some with agreement.

"How are we supposed to know?" Sachio retorted with a calm voice, slightly mocking the boy's impatience.

"I'm tired of waiting for him!" Raiga exclaimed, kicking one of the last stones before heading towards the entrance. She felt Kisame shift away from her watching Raiga go, really watching to see if he'd do it. Once Raiga had one foot out of the door and showed no signs of uncertainty, Kisame disappeared from her side and appeared in front of the brown haired boy forcing him up against the wall.

Anzu twitched at watching her former son being restrained roughly and viciously by her lover but she had to admit, he had it coming.

One of the rules of the seven swordsmen, part of their _code_, was that you were never to walk out of a meeting. As six of the members were there technically this meeting was in session and as the leader wasn't there yet that meant second in command was in charge.

Meaning Kisame was in charge.

And he had told them to wait.

"I didn't dismiss you yet Kurosuki. You'll wait here with the rest of us, even if it means you rot while doing it." The hulking, blue man growled out holding Raiga up off the ground by his shirt collar.

Anzu shifted her feet uncomfortably while the rest of the swordsmen chuckled in delight. This was a mood that Kisame had recently developed that she found she didn't like.

It was a sadistic mood that radiated danger in authority. She didn't like it when he got like that, in honesty it frightened her that he was beginning to change. Was it maybe the fact that he was stronger then most of them and it was starting to go to his head?

The other swordsmen seemed to like this sadistic mood, they found it amusing and inspiring at the same time. But they didn't know him or care about him the way she did. They didn't love him. They didn't see how dangerous this change could be. Apparently, while she was thinking Raiga had made a sharp retort and Kisame looked about ready to bury him six feet under, one hand suspending him in mid-air, the other grasping Samehada's hilt.

"Kisame." She said his name and he paused, suddenly realizing what the consequences of his actions might be. "Please put him down, I'm sure he didn't mean it…" Her voice was quiet but not timid as she watched him with cautious eyes. He sighed before carelessly tossing the brunette boy to the ground and returning to his spot beside her.

The rest of the swordsmen went back to their activities, deciding the entertainment was over.

Raiga glared in her direction and she bit her lip and looked down. Why was she letting him boss her around with his glares? She was his superior and the woman who raised him! _Grow some backbone! What happened to you?_ She scolded herself before raising her eyes to glare at him with all she could muster. He flinched.

What's that saying?

Oh yeah, 'kicking a man when he's down'.

"Sorry I'm late. But I've got some troubling news." She looked to see Toshirou standing in the entrance. He didn't bother to come in; he just looked at them each in turn, his gaze ending on her and Kisame at the end.

Kisame had now rewrapped his arm around her waist and she felt her lover's fingers twitch with mild curiosity and anticipation. "At 2:00 this morning, the most powerful council member of Kirigakure was assassinated. They think we did it."

Talk about 'kicking the 7 swordsmen when they were down'.

**REVIEW**

**OR ELSE**

**JUST KIDDING!**

**BUT SERIOUSLY,**

**REVIEW**


	11. Chapter 11: Individual Decision

Different

~Chapter 11~

Individual Decision

**I have a poll for those of you that read my other stories, and those of you that want to help me make a tough decision of my own -_-'… so much confusion both in this chapter and my own head. Please help me by checking out the poll on my profile and voting! ^.^ Lala loves you all!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

XxX

Dead Silence.

That's what he was greeted with.

For once they were all stunned into silence.

"What proof do they have to accuse us!" Anzu snarled angrily, pulling away from Kisame to direct her anger at their Captain. The others knew of her temper and decided it would be best to stay out of the way and let her have Toshirou, though Kisame looked on with a furrowed brow.

He whipped his gaze back to her, a fierce, sharp glare reminding her why he was the leader. That he was the strongest. She widened her eyes and stopped, bowing in regret. "My apologies, Captain. I just can't believe they would so blatantly accuse us." She commented as she rose.

She noticed Toshirou's dark green eyes soften knowingly and he nodded in acceptance of her apology. "I agree. It is quite uncivil of them isn't it? That's why I have made a decision." A malicious smirk curved his lips, showing his sharpened signature swordsmen teeth, yet another reminder why he was leader.

"I have decided that in 2 days time, at the stroke of midnight, I will attack the Mizukage's building while they are in meeting." There was silence once more and everyone stared at him questioningly. It was rare that anyone in the swordsmen used the word _I_ in the place of the word _we_.

He walked away flicking his hand dismissively his voice echoing through the deep dark tunnel even though he was nowhere in sight.

"You have no obligation to help me. If you wish to help me, you will show up at HQ 10 minutes before the attack. If you are not going to help me I request that you feign ignorance, the members that help me I must have gone to individually. Though in truth this is your individual decision."

XxX

Anzu sighed and snuggled closer to Kisame from where they were sitting on her couch. She was waiting for Shoda to return from the academy anxiously; yesterday's meeting burning in her mind.

Kisame had also stayed over last night, his presence offering her some comfort while she pondered the question; should I help him or not? He had obviously been thinking too, his eyes unfocused and distant, staring straight ahead.

"Anzu." He spoke her name for the first time after a whole day of troubled silence. She glanced up removing her face from his chest so she could meet his gaze with her own steel blue, silver slivered eyes.

At this point she felt like she was going to help Toshirou, but It had been back and forth all day. She always thought of Shoda soon after the thought came to mind and it crumbled any sense of decision she had.

Leaving only the ever present indecision.

Damn that Toshirou…

"I don't want you to help him." He stated bluntly, eyes boring deep into her own. She felt a twinge of anger.

"What? You don't think I can take care of myself!" He closed his eyes breathing in. Kisame had never been one to express his anger through words like her, he expressed it through actions. Though she doubted he would ever hurt her.

"It's not that Anzu-"

"Then it's because I'm a woman isn't it! You don't think I can fight as well as you can?" She didn't know why she was yelling at him, or where all these things she was yelling were coming from. They were just flowing out of her mouth and she couldn't stop them.

"Dammit, Anzu it's because you've got too much to lose!" He finally yelled, standing abruptly and glowering at her before storming out, taking Samehada with him.

Now she knew what his victims felt like before they were destroyed. That piercing glare… something she had discovered all the swordsmen had developed.

She bit her lip lowering her head, she was crying again. Only faint tears, not accompanied by sobs, just tears streaming silently down her cheeks.

She wasn't crying because he had yelled at her, because he had glared at her or even because he had left. But because he was right and she was going to ignore that fact and help Toshirou.

Just so she wouldn't lose him.

"So do you…"

XxX

It was 15 minutes before midnight; Anzu was dressed for combat. A black spandex, long sleeved shirt that only went to just above her stomach, signature black and gray, baggy camouflage pants and tight black, black combat boots with daggers in them.

Her long, wavy black hair was tied up into a high ponytail by a dark royal blue satin ribbon, two bangs framing her face. A matching ribbon was tied to Yamasota's hilt. Yamasota was strapped to her back by silver chains that crisscrossed over her chest.

"Anzu..." She turned to see Kisame standing in the open French doors that led to her balcony. She hadn't spoken to him since their argument. He was leaning up against one of them lazily, dressed in the same uniform as Anzu, minus the fact that this shirt went over his stomach. She looked away and busied herself with putting on makeup.

She didn't want to talk to him, not right now. He'd only make her feel guilty about her decision.

She felt him approach her from behind but she continued to pretend to ignore him, she couldn't really ignore him though. She couldn't help but sense everything about him. How close he was standing, how he smelled, how tall he was. She could feel her body practically screaming for him, but she denied it.

Continuing to pretend to ignore him. That's all she could do though, pretend.

She finished lining her eyes when she felt him lean close to her ear. "What are you putting on make-up for? It's an assassination, not a date." She bit her lip at his repetitive taunt.

Damn him.

He smelled so good, to her anyways, a woman who loved the smells of battle. He smelled like steel, a deep musty ash smell and even though he probably had had a shower since his last mission, there was always just the faintest hint of blood, that sharp smell that would take her frown slightly then smile.

It helped remind her how impressively strong he was.

Suddenly, she felt something cool, like metal gently press against the milky skin of her neck. She watched in the mirror in front of her as he easily put on the necklace for her. It was a beautiful gold chain and on it a golden locket the shape of a heart. Engraved on the heart was the symbol of the village hidden in the mist.

"Anzu. Look at me." He commanded softly as he met her eyes by gazing into the mirror also. She turned her hand going to the locket as she looked up at him, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

"Whether we live or die, we're never going to see each other again, are we?" Anzu asked, her voice barely a whisper as she accepted the hard truth. It was true, that thought was another thing that had troubled her mind.

Once they attacked the council there would be no going back. They would either be killed, thrown in jail or if they were lucky, escape and become missing ninja. The chances that the two would live, let alone ever see each other again were less then likely. He said nothing, only pulling her to him and hugging her.

They stayed like that for the remaining five minutes they had left, each afraid that if they said anything it would ruin this time together. Finally she pulled away, smiling up at him warmly and caressing his cheek, noting how she had to stand on her tip toes to reach it.

She gave him a quick kiss on the chin, forehead, then moved from cheek to cheek and finished with a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Are you ready?" He asked looking her in the eyes.

Was she ready to give everything up? She stared into his eyes; both had long ago accepted each other's silent apologies. That's when she made her final individual decision.

As long as she was with him in these final hours, whether they ever saw each other again or not…

"I have always been ready."


	12. Chapter 12: Final Farewell

Different

~Chapter 12~

Final Farewell

**The poll is still open! Please vote!**

**I will be updating more frequently as Different will soon be coming to a close. 2/3 more chappies and an epilogue. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

XxX

Anzu took a deep breath as she gazed down at the HQ from the roof of the building beside it. Kisame was crouched beside her, also staring down at the small, seemingly unimportant building.

By the chakra signatures she sensed, she and Kisame were the last ones there. She turned her head to see Kisame looking at her now.

They were wearing white, oval shaped masks that did not represent an animal; they were just plain white masks with different markings. Anzu's had three black scar shaped markings that went all the way across the lower part of the mask. Kisame had one dark blue stripe that started at the top of his mask and ended about where the point of his nose would be.

The moon made both their figures glow slightly in the darkness, a silver lining surrounding their blackened, hunkered down figures. She let her mind travel back to her son, Shoda, and what she had said to him earlier that night.

_11:30 PM_

"_Shoda, Shoda darling." She shook his shoulder gently from her position sitting on the edge of his bed. She was still dressed in her black jeans, white button up t-shirt and black heels. Her black hair cascaded down past her rib cage and her eyes were clouded over with inner turmoil. _

_He moaned in his sleep and sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. "Mama?" His voice was a murmur and he turned to look at her and started when he noticed her desperate eyes. _

"_Shoda, I need to talk to you about something important so please pay close attention." She urged grasping his shoulders. He stared at her, sapphire ringed eyes wide with intrigue and confusion. _

"_Something bad is going to happen and I'm apart of it…" She started slowly, making sure never to break eye contact so he could see the seriousness in her words. "I need you to do something for me." _

_He nodded, waiting for her to continue. _

"_I need you to get dressed and meet me downstairs in a few minutes. Bring some spare clothes and a book or two, only the essentials." _

"_Mama…?" _

"_Yes my darling." _

"_We're leaving, aren't we?" She smiled._

"_You're so bright. So smart. Yes sweets, we're leaving. Now hurry, we only have a few minutes."_

"Let's go Anzu." Kisame's gruff voice urged her out of her trance-like state.

"Yeah…" her voice barely a whisper, and she doubted he had even heard her.

_11:50 PM_

_At this point Kisame had met her in her room and he followed her downstairs to find Shoda sitting on the couch. Kisame raised his eyebrow at her and she smiled at him, before walking up to shoda and crouching down so she was at eye level with him. _

"_Shoda. You're going to have to follow my instructions exactly…"_

She and Kisame jumped down onto the ground and entered the dimly lit building in silence. Everyone was sitting in a circle leisurly and none looked up when the two entered. All of the swordsmen had chosen to come.

_Do you remember when you were really little and I took you for that walk outside the village gates?_

"I'm not going to waste any time on this considering we only have 5 minutes left." Toshirou told them without looking u from running his finger down his blade.

_Do you remember that old forest?_

"We'll split up at first." He continued glancing up slowly and making eye contact with each one of them. That was a thing about Toshirou that she respected. His to the point attitude.

_Do you remember that big pine tree? The one we had that picnic under? The one you had said was taller then Kisame, whom you had thought at the time was the tallest person or object in existence?_

"Anzu and Raiga. You'll enter the building from the back entrance."

_At exactly 12:00, when both hands of the clock are on the 12,_

"Minoru and Sachio. You'll enter through the front doors."

_I need you to leave this house, _

"Kisame and Zabuza, you two will come with me. We'll go straight to the root of the problem. Break right into the upper level meeting room's window."

_I need you to run to that old forest._

"Any questions?"

_I need you to find that big old pine tree._

"No? Good. Now take your positions. We have no time to waste. The time of the council's reign must end now!" For emphasis he forced his sword forward so it crashed trough the marble flooring of the HQ, creating a long crack that traveled from one end of the room to the other. Kisame sidestepped it calmly.

_Wait there for me._

The swordsmen made their way out of the HQ silently, still in a large group. At this point it didn't matter if anyone seen them or not; it would be too late to evacuate those bumbling old fools.

_Stay silent,_

Anzu stayed close to Kisame, frowning under her mask at the thought of not having more time with him. But it needed to be done.

_Speak to no one,_

The rest of the swordsmen carried on to their positions, leaving the two to stand alone together on the road. Back to back. She leaned until her back was touching his and she memorized the calming pattern of his breathing.

_Stick to the shadows like the great shinobi I know you'll be one day,_

She held her breath as her back brushed against the bandaged Samehada, feeling it begin to slowly drain her chakra. Though it didn't matter, she had chakra to loose.

_Don't look back._

She brought her hand back and felt him take it. His hand so much bigger then her own, though both were slightly rough and battle hardened.

_I love you._

"I love you ,Kisame."

_If I never come to collect you, that means something bad has happened to me. Don't return to the village, Shoda. They'll only hurt you. Continue on your own, be brave, be strong. For me._

"I love you too, Anzu."

_Don't forget me, love._

"Don't forget me, Kisame."

_I'll never forget you my son. I could never forget you._

"I could never forget you, Anzu. You are everything to me."

_In case we never see each other again…_

"Goodbye, Kisame Hoshigaki, my beloved."

_Farewell, Shoda Yamato, my son._

"Goodbye, Anzu Yamato, my angel."

And with that the two parted ways. Anzu didn't look back, afraid if she did she would burst into tears.


	13. Chapter 13: A Dying Angel

Different

~Chapter 13~

A Dying Angel

**Poll still open, please vote!**

**I'll be starting high school in 2 1/2 weeks so for those of you that want me to update one of my other stories please vote soon! I can't believe it…0 votes. Makes me sad. T.T**

**Thanks to zhorla for being my first reviewer since chapter 7 ^.^ !**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. **

**1 more chapter after this and an epilogue! MAYBE A SEQUAL LATER! I want to focus on my other unfinished stories first though.**

XxX

"One minute…" She murmured. She and Raiga were lounging in a tree just outside the back entrance, both disguising their chakra so the Anbu who stood a mere 10 feet away wouldn't see them.

She found it funny that they couldn't sense them and she noted how she failed to realize that she was one of the strongest shinobi in the village. She hadn't realized it until just now.

Raiga just stared straight ahead, eyes focused souly on the Anbu and the entrance before them, expression unreadable. Anzu stood up from her sitting position slowly, so as not to cause to much movement and used her arm to support her up against said tree.

"Now." Raiga said quietly, slipping on his mask. Just as he said that single, extremely meaningful word, they heard windows crash and people calling out to each other as they were invaded.

Anzu jumped down from the tree and charged at the guarding Anbu, who had been distracted by the sudden noise elsewhere.

They turned to her too late as she decapitated two of them, their lifeless heads falling to the ground the third made a rush for her but her partner struck him with lightning which blew the Anbu's body into the metal door and forced it down the slim hallway, taking out any and all people who had been travelling that particular hall.

The dust didn't even have a chance to clear before Anzu and Raiga dashed into the building. Anzu, however, had run into a problem.

"Raiga! We need to get out of these narrow corridors! I can't use Yamasota in such limited space!" She told him urgently as they turned another corner only to be greeted with another narrow hall. Raiga nodded.

"We're not far from the meeting room. If we get there you should be fine…" Anzu nodded but their way was blocked by another group of Anbu.

"Damn." She muttered and stepped back to give him room to fight. However when she did she heard a small voice from somewhere behind Raiga say something.

"There are more coming from behind you." Anzu's eyes widened both in surprise and the sudden realization that the voice was right. She sensed chakra signatures coming from behind her, with the intent to kill.

She closed her eyes activating the third stage of her kekkei genkai, her eyes going pure silver, the black pupils growing until the silver was merely a thin ring. She had a premonition.

There were four, two were going to go after Raiga, two to her.

One was going to meet her head on while the other was going to come at her from the side, plunging two swords into her at once. Her vision cleared and her eyes returned to normal. She had to take the chance.

She raised Yamasota, the tall blade ripping through the dry wall and blocking the two aiming at Raiga. She managed to kill one of them before the long black blade became embedded in the wall. Using her upper strength she raised herself up and flipped over the hilt kicking the two shinobi that had been running at her, the daggers in the heel of her boots stabbing them in their hearts.

She had just pulled her trusty companion out of the wall when Raiga had a bolt of lightning come from the sky and destroyed the area of building around them. The ground caved in and they landed in the stone basement below the building.

Dust covered the stony basement like mist and Anzu struggled to her feet, blinking to clear the spots from her vision and trying to recover from being winded. She looked up to see Raiga still struggling with Anbu on the other floor and she was about to join him until she heard a scared gasp. She turned to see a council member hiding pitifully behind a burly Anbu guard.

He had probably fled to the basement in hopes of escape.

She bent down slowly, narrowly avoiding two kunai that were thrown at her, firmly grasping Yamasota's hilt.

"Step away from him man. This isn't your battle. I'm after him, not you." She said calmly, righting herself and removing her mask, tossing it like a frisbee and smirking when it hit the wall, shattering into a million pieces.

"You threaten him, you threaten Kirigakure! That makes it our battle!" Anzu frowned at him as he spoke.

"You'd die for a man who brought Kirigakure to ruin! Look around you! Kirigakure has been destroyed by the council! Things need to change and the only way that can happen is if he dies!" She noticed them both flinch; the council member began to sweat.

"Y-you wouldn't r-really let her k-kill me w-w-would you?" He stuttered out anxiously taking a step away from his guard, who was removing himself from battle stance.

"She's right. I do want you dead." He said taking a step to the side.

Anzu seized the opportunity dashing forward and shoving her hand right through his chest, it came out his back. The council member went limp and she removed her hand letting him fall to the ground with a thump. Suddenly she tensed and jumped away just as the Anbu lunged at her with his katana.

"Even though I let you, you still committed a crime punishable by death." He told her before allowing fire to consume his katana. He charged at her ready to destroy.

"You're-"

"Anbu Captain Shiro Mekkeo."

XxX

The three men stood in the empty council room, blood and mangled bodies scattered across the floor.

"Dammit! 2 got away!" Toshirou growled out his eye blazing with rage. The door creaked open and Minoru and Sachio walked through, the dead body of a council member slung over the Hozuki's broad shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Captain." Minoru said sarcastically, throwing the dead man to the ground.

"Sorry we're late." Sachio apologized.

"That only leaves one…" Zabuza murmured just as Raiga walked through the door. They all turned to him slowly. "The last one's dead." He told them.

"Where's Anzu?" Kisame asked cautiously.

"She's dead. Ran into Captain Mekkeo of the Anbu guard protecting the last council member. Anzu and him were evenly matched, died at the exact same time." Kisame narrowed his eyes but before he could say anything Toshirou interrupted.

"It's been a pleasure serving with you all but we can't stick around. I sense the chakra signatures of thousands of Anbu heading this way."

XxX

They all ran in separate directions, trying to avoid the throng of angered shinobi.

Kisame knew where he was going.

He was going to get Shoda, as Anzu would never collect him, just as she predicted she wouldn't. He didn't slow down as he entered the forest, still hearing a mob of Anbu behind him, though they were far enough away that he could grab the kid and run.

He squinted his eyes through the dimly lit forest, dodging a tree branch.

There he was.

"Kisame!" The little boy exclaimed with joy but then he was quite as his blue eyes searched behind the tall man hopefully.

"She's dead kid." He explained bluntly, watching the kids eyes become downcast.

"Your coming with me kid. Hurry." The boy nodded climbing up onto Kisame's back, careful to avoid Samehada. "Hold on."

XxX

In the early morning, a dark broken figure slunk through the trees like a snake, leaving behind a thin trail of crimson blood.

The sound of a group of shinobi heading back towards the village behind the figure halted it. It tried to hold it's breath but it only ended up wheezing, so instead it settled for pulling itself up under a thick gorse bush. It closed its silver blue eyes, focusing on hiding what little chakra it had left.

"I just got word from Captain Hazuki from back at the Mizukage building. The body of Anzu Yamato has gone missing."

"She couldn't have gotten far! Double back and comb the forest!"

"Yes, sir!" They dispersed and it waited a few minutes before pulling itself up onto two feet and running crookedly, running into an assortment of stumps and debris.

It leant up against a tree, staring out into a clearing wear a single, giant pine tree stood.

_He's not there…good. That means he's safe…somewhere._

It thought, drawing in a deep shaky breath. It stumbled forward collapsing on to its knees, just in front of the tree staring up at it with pleading eyes.

A single trail of blood fell from the corner of its mouth, a drop falling and landing on a blade of grass, sliding down it.

A dainty hand covered a large gapping wound on its lower rib cage while the other was limp and lifeless on its other side, brushing the tall green grass. Small rays of early morning light dappled through the thick canopy creating what appeared to be wings extending from behind it. Its black hair, dirty and matted, still managed to cascade beautifully down its shoulders and to its chest.

It stayed like that for a moment, before crawling forward pitifully and resting casually against the tree, eyes now slightly closed. Its lips twisted into a grim, but pained smile and there her lips remained frozen, still and silent.

The bright green eyes who had watched from the shadows would never forget what it had seen that morning.

A real dying angel.


	14. Chapter 14: An Unexpected Saviour

Different

~Chapter 14~

An Unexpected Saviour

**Last chapter but there is still an epilogue. VOTE!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own naruto.**

XxX

"_Raiga, help me!" Anzu cried clutching her wound and gazing up through the hole in the basement ceiling. He was looking down at her with narrowed eyes and a scowl. She coughed up blood and she wretched up more soon after. _

"_Please! Help me!" She called up. There was panic in her eyes. What if Shoda continued to wait for her? He'd get caught! She needed to live, for him, even if that meant begging the angel of death himself! _

"_No." Was his cold reply causing Anzu to flinch and stare at him wide eyed. She was over come by rage and she ground her teeth. _

"_You'll regret it!"_

"_No. One day I may feel guilty, but I will never regret leaving you here to rot!" _

"_Traitor!" _

"_Hn, I have no problem with being a traitor among traitors." Then he walked away. She lay there for awhile, listening to his footsteps as he walked away. Betrayed her. The woman who raised him for a good portion of his miserable life. She couldn't help but smiling, chuckling as she did so. _

"_I guess you won't, but for the record, I regret saving you now." _

Anzu blinked once, and then closed her eyes again. They hurt like hell and she had a head ache. Though, strangely, she didn't feel pain elsewhere.

Was she dead?

"_What's that over there?" _

"_It's Anzu Yamato." _

"_Is she alive or dead?" Anzu held her breath and slowed her heartbeat to an undetectable level, something she had learned to do after she had joined Anbu. _

"_Dead. But judging by the body heat she hasn't been long." _

"_What about Captain Makkeo" More footsteps and the sound of leather grinding as someone crouched down. The sound of someone shifting to stand. Anzu tried not to cough up more blood. _

"_He's dead." _

"_Well, let's go get Captain Hazuki, I'm sure he'll want to know we've got a body. Take her sword as proof." She resisted the urge to smirk as one of them screamed in pain. _

"_What's the matter?" _

"_It burned me!" There was a sigh. _

"_Fine then just leave it. It's not like either of them are going anywhere."_

She tried opening them again, this time successfully opening them half way. She groaned and shifted then observed her surroundings. She was in a dirt burrow, somewhere underground. She started to breathe in the damp air slowly, savouring each breath. Sharp, piercing, _real_ air filling her num lounges.

No, she was not dead.

She tried to twitch her fingers, smiling as she felt them move across the rough ground. She began to regain feeling in her body and she slowly began to sit up, shifting her weight so she could clutch her head. While looking down she noticed bandaged covering all her wounds and noted the slight tingling sensation that accompanied medical balms at work from underneath the newly changed wraps.

"So you're awake huh?" Blinking she looked in the direction of the voice to find a young girl of about 12.

She had chest length blond hair that looked messy and dirty. Her bangs fell into her face and were long enough to reach her cheeks. Her pale, milky skin was soiled in some places by black dirt. She had bright, unusual neon green eyes that made the girl stick out as more then just an average girl. She was dressed in a ratty black pair of pants that appeared to have sewn patches on then and a red kimono top that had several rips in it and didn't appear to fit properly.

"I found ya lying up against a tree, bleedin' to death an' bein' chased by those masked shinobi, those what'cha ma call its…" She trailed of and put a finger to her lips in thought.

"Anbu." Anzu muttered.

"Yeah! Those guys! Wow, you must be pretty strong ta' survive bein' chased by those miss…" Her bright eyes searching Anzu's silver, blue ones.

"Anzu. Anzu Yamato." She said before wincing in pain at speaking too loud. The girls eyes widened.

"Oh here! Drink this! It's a natural tea I made with kingsfoil and marigold petals, it's a natural pain killer. If you have a headache it will help." Anzu nodded and took the cup from her hands carefully sniffing it, causing the girl to laugh at her.

"What'd I have to gain by poisonin' ya Miss. Anzu?"

"You could probably turn me in for a high reward, which by the looks of you, you need." She snapped at the girl causing her to flinch and look at the ground.

"If I was goin' to turn ya in Miss. Anzu, I would a done it a long time ago." She said quietly. Anzu's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean to be so harsh…" She soothed. She really hadn't meant to sound that way, she was just finding it hard to trust people.

Especially after what Raiga had done.

The girl looked back up flashing still pearly white teeth.

"S'okay." Anzu stared at the greenish liquid before staking a cautious sip. She moaned as she felt the warmth slide down her dry throat and into her stomach, suddenly sending calmly waves of heat through her body. She finished the rest quickly, the girl watching her from the side. After she was done she placed the small cup on the ground and looked back over to the girl. If someone paid attention to her, fed her, clothed her and took care of her, she would probably be a very gorgeous girl.

Like Anzu always was told she was. Anzu brought her legs under her and into a more comfortable position, getting ready to question the girl.

"Did you heal me?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I don't really know why. But, my mama always told me to take care o' people, weather ya knew em' or not." Anzu nodded satisfied, her eyes softening slightly. She had often told her sons the same thing.

"How long have I been here?"

" 'Bout two weeks." There was a pause as Anzu mulled this over, the search for her would have died down by now.

"What were you doing here?"

"Wanderin'."

"Where is your family?"

"I got none."

A pause.

"Are you a kunoichi?"

"Nah. I wanna be, but I'm not a citizen of a village an' I got no family history so they wouldn't lemme in, let alone be in an academy. My mama wanted me ta be a kunoichi but she died 'fore we could move to a hidden village." Anzu thought this all over.

"Alright kid, I'll make you a deal. I'll train you as a shinobi in order to thank you for saving me." The girl looked up in excitement.

"Really an' truly?" Anzu laughed, she was just so cute.

"Yes. But I have another condition before you become my ward."

"What is it Miss. Anzu?"

"Alright, 2 conditions; first, just call me Anzu. Second, the people of Kirigakure still have something very valuable to me. A sword known as Yamasota. I'm going to get it back and I need help. What do you say? Are you in or out?" The girl thought for a moment, her neon eyes becoming dull with thought.

"I'll do it…Anzu." Anzu smiled at the girl's determination.

"I have one more question kid."

"Yeah?"

"What's your name?"

"Rikuya Kimura."

XxX

**Bwahhahahahahaha! ANZU IS NOT DEAD! SHE LIVES! **

**And what's this. **_**Rikuya Kimura.**_ **Hm, I seem to remember a conversation between Kisame and Anzu a couple chapters back about and old comrade of theirs a certain BOTAN KIMURA who had two mystery children and was Anzu's exiled swordsmen partner. **

**Anyone remember who the second child was…? **

**And what happened/is going to happen to all the children of the swordsmen? Shoda went with Kisame…but what about Mangetsu, Suigetsu, Minoru Hozuki's sons? Dai (who is a full grown Anbu now), Toshiro and Noriko, Captain Toshirou Saito's kids? Akihito, Kenji and Akemi, Sachio Nakamura's kids? **

**Will I write a sequal to answer these questions? That's up to your reviews!**


	15. Epilogue

Different

~Epilogue~

**Here it is the epilogue. The final thing. Wanna sequal? Tell me. Wanna help me decide which story to work on next? Vote on the poll on my profile. This story has been really great to work on. I'll kinda miss it actually…**

**Final Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

No moon shone that night, leaving only inky darkness to cover the streets. All the lights were off in every home, signalling how late it was. Every home that is, except for one, the house of the good Dr. Shun Lee, whom had taken in a 'stray' as many of the citizens called her at first.

She was a mysterious young woman, hooded and cloaked in black with a young girl traveling with her. A single golden locket clung to her neck, on her back she carried a large sword, almost bigger then she which added to her fierce disposition, but her eyes were kind and the children of the small village adored her and her stories of great shinobi.

She purchased a home close to the river, where it often got misty and foul, no one able to figure out why she found such comfort there. She would often be found in the park with her 'ward', as she often called the young girl with her, on the coldest, undesirable mornings, reading story books aloud and mingling with the villages people as they past.

Everyone grew to love the woman dearly, offering her leftover parts of their crops after a long day selling at the market, or inviting her in for tea. She became so well known among the village, though she remained fairly distant, the doctor being her only 'friend'. It was obvious the young doctor had fallen for the black haired beauty, though she could never return his love. He would ask for her hand in marriage many times and each time she would tell him that her heart was already taken by another.

Suddenly a blood curdling scream of pain echoed out, cutting through the dark and disrupting the peaceful surroundings. It was followed by the light sound of the whine of a baby.

It then fell to peaceful silence which did not last long as the woman's scream echoed out again. Her pained sounds continued until yet another baby's whine was heard, accompanying the firsts.

This time there was no silence, the woman never silencing her screams of pain, which stopped abruptly for a brief time. Then there was a final scream, followed by yet another babies whine. And then finally all was completely silent, any disturbed neighbours finally able to sleep.

_On the night of no moon,_

_I shall struggle to bring forth new life,_

_I shall not sleep,_

_I shall bare the searing pain,_

_As that pain hath deliver to me three gifts,_

_The first the dimming evening, _

_The second the blackest midnight,_

_The third the brightening morning,_

_I shall forever remember this night,_

_As I shall remember him for eternity,_

_Just as he told me he would never forget me,_

_But maybe he will, _

_As he has not the reminders I have now,_

_Higure, Shinya , Asamaru,_

_My three gifts._


End file.
